(Sugar Grove, IL) – Waubonsee Community College's women's volleyball extended its current winning streak to nine with an impressive victory over visiting McHenry County College three games to none. The Chiefs (15-6, 4-0) won 25-8, 25-14 and 25-22 to take the match-up between the two top teams in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC). The Scots had entered Waubonsee's Erickson Hall with a 4-0 mark in ISCC play, a 16-7 overall record and a ranking of 13th nationally in the latest NJCAA Division II poll.
The Chiefs came out on fire to start the match, taking the first seven points before the Scots were able to get settled in. A power kill by Anna Gonzalez, set up perfectly by Kiara McPherson, increased the lead to 10-2. Not long after that Kaylee Read made an excellent over the head pass to set up Evelyn Martin for a kill and a 15-6 Waubonsee lead. The Chiefs extended that lead to 21-8 when McPherson assisted Martin on another kill. After a McHenry timeout Martin tallied an ace and Olivia McPherson finished off the set with a kill as the Chiefs took 13 of the final 15 points of the game.
Waubonsee carried that energy into the second set taking a 3-1 lead on a service ace by Martin. A power spike from the right side by Martin pushed the lead to 10-4 and the Chiefs extended their lead to 14-5 when a McHenry return shot sailed beyond the end line. The Scots battled back to within five points at 16-11 before Olivia McPherson single-handedly broke their momentum. Highlighted by a kill and an ace by McPherson, Waubonsee took a more comfortable 20-11 lead. A few minutes later Jordan Weber registered a kill from the middle of the net, Read followed suit a moment later and the victory went in the books when a McHenry return shot landed out of bounds in front of the Chiefs' bench on the ensuing volley.
Game three was tightly contested early on until Weber recorded back-to-back aces to help Waubonsee grab an 8-4 lead. The Scots responded by taking the next three points until Gonzalez tallied a kill at the net to make it 9-7. Two minutes later Olivia McPherson scored on a thunderous kill to extend the Chiefs' lead to 12-8. McHenry scraped their way back, taking the point on the second of two long volleys to tie the score at 15-all. From there it was a back and forth battle. A kill by Gonzalez from the left side gave Waubonsee a 19-16 lead and a little breathing room prompting a timeout by McHenry head coach Kyle McCall. Leading 20-16, Olivia McPherson booked an ace when her serve hit the net, curled over the top and dropped onto the other side. That fortuitous event seemed to energize the Chiefs as they went on to pull ahead 23-18 on a kill by Gonzalez. However, the Scots again made a run at Waubonsee crawling to within a point at 23-22 until Gonzalez stopped the bleeding with another kill. Facing game and match point, the Scots called timeout once more, but only delayed the inevitable. Kiara McPherson immediately ended things when play resumed by serving up a laser for an ace to end it.
Olivia McPherson finished with 14 kills and 11 digs, while her twin sister Kiara ended the match with 37 assists. Martin added 10 kills, six service aces and eight digs, Gonzalez contributed seven kills and nine digs, and Weber chipped in with six kills. Coach Steve Kish's Chiefs, winners of 11 of their last 13 matches, are in action again this weekend when they travel to Michigan to participate in the Grand Rapids Community College Invitational on Saturday, October 2. Waubonsee does not return home to Erickson Hall for nearly a month. Waubonsee is set to host Moraine Valley Community College in an ISCC matchup on Thursday, October 28 for their final regular season match beginning at 6:00 p.m.