SUGAR GROVE, Ill. — The Milwaukee Area Technical College women's volleyball team's season ended Wednesday as the Stormers fell 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-15) to host Waubonsee Community College in an NJCAA Region 4 Tournament quarterfinal.

Entering the tournament as the No. 13 seed, MATC was unable to pull off the spoiler role against the fourth-seeded Chiefs, bringing its postseason run to a close in the opening round of the tournament. 

The loss capped an 18-16 season for the Stormers, who went 8-4 at home, 3-6 on the road and 7-6 in neutral-site matches. MATC still recorded its fourth consecutive season with at least 15 victories, dating to 2023.

"Overall, I'm disappointed," Stormers head coach Shel DeLisle said. "In both the playoff match and the season as a whole. I thought we were going to be better, and based on our practices, we should have been this season."

Waubonsee controlled the match from the opening serve and took the first set 25-14. MATC put up its best fight in the second set before falling 25-18. The Stormers battled in the third set but could not close the gap midway through, and the Chiefs finished the sweep with a 25-15 win.

"Our problem tonight was discipline," DeLisle said. "Discipline is doing what's required whether someone is watching or not. The teams that have lasting success are the ones that commit to those standards every day. We had individuals who bought into that, but we weren't consistent enough across the board, and that made it difficult to put ourselves in the best position to succeed." 

MATC's offense struggled to find its rhythm and finished with 22 kills.

Sophomore outside hitter Kayleah Laughlin and sophomore Natalia Farrugia led the Stormers with six kills apiece. Farrugia also had one block assist and the team's lone service ace, and she committed just one reception error in 14 attempts.

Sophomore middle Annika Romine posted the team's best hitting percentage, .167, with three kills and two block assists. Sophomore setter and team captain Hope Martens ran the offense with 15 assists and tied freshman libero Lydia Johnson for the team lead with 10 digs. Freshman middle/pin hitter Dorothy Hoagland chipped in six digs in the season finale. 

The match was the last for Farrugia, Laughlin, Martens and Romine, a sophomore class that helped rewrite the Stormers' record book and sustain the program's tradition of postseason appearances.

"I'm really going to miss this sophomore class," DeLisle said. "Those four student-athletes have been incredible leaders and ambassadors for our program. They consistently gave everything they had on and off the court, and I think there were times this season when they took on more responsibility for our setbacks than they should have. I couldn't be more proud of what they've contributed to MATC volleyball."

UP NEXT

The Stormers will look to build on the foundation left by their departing sophomores when they open the 2027 season next fall.