SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. — Three days after a narrow five‑set loss at College of DuPage, the Milwaukee Area Technical College women's volleyball team delivered a decisive response at the South Suburban Invitational, rolling to a 4–0 weekend and improving to 9–5 overall. The Stormers won twice on Saturday and twice more on Sunday, taking three of the four matches in four sets or fewer.
MATC opened the event with a 3–1 win over Lake Michigan College, taking the first set 25–20, dropping the second 25–21, and regaining control with 25–21 and 25–12 finishes. The Stormers followed with a dramatic five‑set victory over Marian University Plymouth, rallying from a 2–1 deficit and closing out the match with emphatic 25–11 and 15–7 frames.
Sunday brought more steady play. MATC swept Kellogg Community College 3–0, winning 25–13, 26–24 and 25–19, marking its fourth 3–0 sweep of the 2026 campaign. The Stormers capped the weekend with a 3–1 win over Olive‑Harvey College, overcoming a 21–25 opening‑set loss to take the next three by a combined 26 points.
"It was good to come away undefeated," Stormers head coach
Shel DeLisle said. "We had some great play by many players. The consistency is coming and hopefully it is a positive weekend we can build upon to continue to win."
Match 1: MATC 3, Lake Michigan College 1
25–20, 21–25, 25–21, 25–12
MATC opened the invitational with a steady four‑set win, closing the final two frames behind a three‑player surge as
Kayleah Laughlin,
Ella Azbell and Bella Bloom each reached double‑digit kills to pace the offense.
Team captain Laughlin powered the opener with a strong double‑double, totaling 16 kills, 17 digs, two solo blocks and an ace. Freshman Azbell added a double‑double of her own with 10 kills, 13 digs, three aces and a block assist. Freshman Bloom matched Azbell with 10 kills, hitting a team‑best .364, and added a solo block, a block assist and five digs. Sophomore
Natalia Farrugia supplied six kills, three aces and two solo blocks. Sophomore setter
Hope Martens posted a setting double‑double with 24 assists, 14 digs and two aces.
Match 2: MATC 3, Marian University Plymouth 2
21–25, 25–18, 18–25, 25–11, 15–7
MATC battled through a back‑and‑forth five‑setter, overcoming a 2–1 deficit with a dominant fourth set and a composed 15–7 finish in the tiebreaker.
Laughlin again led the offense with 17 kills, hitting .282 and tying for the team lead with five aces. Farrugia matched the ace total with five and added two block assists.
Dorothy Hoagland controlled the net with two solo blocks, two block assists and two aces.
Olivia Graves contributed eight kills on .316 hitting and four block assists in a match defined by front‑row pressure.
Aubrey Schwent paced the back row with nine digs, while
Annika Romine hit a team‑high .500 with five kills and two block assists. Martens finished with 20 assists.
Match 3: MATC 3, Kellogg Community College 0
25–13, 26–24, 25–19
MATC opened Sunday with its cleanest performance of the weekend, sweeping Kellogg behind a fast start and a tight second‑set win.
Laughlin recorded her second double‑double of the weekend with 10 kills and 11 digs, adding three aces and three block assists while hitting .368. Farrugia followed with eight kills on .400 hitting, three aces and two block assists. Romine posted a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage (4‑for‑4) with five block assists, while Hoagland also hit 1.000 (3‑for‑3) with three block assists. Martens tallied 14 assists, and
Onyx Burdette added 11.
Match 4: MATC 3, Olive‑Harvey College 1
21–25, 25–9, 25–21, 25–19
After dropping the opening set, MATC surged back with a dominant 25–9 second set and maintained steady momentum the rest of the way to close the weekend 4–0.
Laughlin continued her strong weekend, leading the attack with 12 kills on .310 hitting. Schwent anchored the defense with 12 digs. Hoagland delivered five kills on a team‑best .333 hitting, five aces and four block assists. Bloom added seven kills on .267 hitting and led the team in blocks with two solo and four assists. Martens finished with 16 assists, while Burdette added 14.
"
Kayleah Laughlin has really stepped up on the court with her play," DeLisle said. "She delivers when we need it. It was great to see a couple of the freshmen also come into their own this weekend."
UP NEXT
MATC (9–5) returns home Wednesday for a 7 p.m. matchup against Bryant & Stratton College at the Alverno College gym in Milwaukee.
