(Sugar Grove, IL) – Coming off of a lopsided road loss to fourth-ranked Sauk Valley Community College, the Waubonsee Community College women's volleyball team looked to get back on track as they hosted Illinois Valley Community College. Despite being short-handed due to a couple of injuries, the Chiefs did just that by downing the visiting Eagles three games to none, improving to 21-9 overall in the process. Waubonsee won game one 25-20, pulled away in game two for a 25-14 victory, and completed the sweep with a 25-15 win in the third set.
Illinois Valley jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the opener before Waubonsee stormed back to take a 10-9 lead. Olivia McPherson tallied four kills and an ace to spark the Chiefs' comeback. A power kill and an ace by Anna Gonzalez put Waubonsee in front 14-12 and the Chiefs never trailed again. Waubonsee reeled off seven straight points to surge ahead 19-12. A few minutes later McPherson recorded a thunderous spike from the left side to make it 22-16. Waubonsee won 25-20 when an Eagles' block went out of bounds off of a kill by Gonzalez for game point.
The Chiefs started game two with a perfectly placed return by Gonzalez for the first point. A back and forth battle ensued from there before Waubonsee gradually began to pull away. A pair of aces by Evelyn Martin staked the Chiefs to a 10-6 lead prompting a timeout by the Eagles. A few minutes later a kill by Kaylee Read, set up nicely by Kiara McPherson, extended Waubonsee's lead to 14-8. Three consecutive aces by Olivia McPherson put the Chiefs in complete control with a 22-14 lead. Martin then finished off the set with a kill from the middle of the net for a convincing 25-14 win.
Game three started off with three straight aces by Illinois Valley's Paige Champlin before Waubonsee got on the board. A few moments later a long volley ended in a point for the Chiefs to get them within one score at 5-4. Waubonsee pulled even at 8-all with the help of a block by Martin and two power kills by Olivia McPherson. A kill by Martin in the middle of the net put Waubonsee in front for the first time at 10-9 and they never looked back. An ace by Martin down the right side pushed the Chiefs lead to 17-11 and the Eagles never got closer than five points the rest of the way. A power spike by Olivia McPherson set the Chiefs up for match point, and the match ended when the Eagles were guilty of a double-hit on the ensuing volley.
Olivia McPherson led Waubonsee with 18 kills, three aces and 10 digs. The Aurora West High School product now has 378 kills on the season, placing her 10th nationally in that category among all NJCAA Division II players. Kiara McPherson booked 40 assists to up her season total to 942, putting her ninth nationally in assists. Martin tallied six kills, served up three aces, while Gonzalez finished with 10 kills and a team-leading 19 digs. Trinity Dean chipped in with nine digs, and Read contributed five kills in the victory.