(Sugar Grove, IL) – Waubonsee Community College and Rock Valley College closed out the 2022 Region IV Women's Volleyball Crossover Tournament. The 35th and final match of the three-day, 15-team tournament saw the Golden Eagles (19-8) overwhelm a tired looking Chiefs team three games to none in Waubonsee's Field House. Rock Valley pulled away midway through each game, winning the opener 25-11, taking game two 25-16 and finally game three 25-17. Waubonsee (4-14) knocked off Black Hawk College in four games in their 9:00 a.m. match Sunday morning, outlasting the Braves to win an exhausting fourth game 31-29.
Against Rock Valley game one was nip and tuck early on with Waubonsee taking a 4-3 lead on a block by Abby Colon. Three straight aces by Madison Koelker then put Rock Valley in front 8-7. The Golden Eagles gradually increased their lead to 13-9 before an ace by Jordan Weber stemmed the tide for a moment. Sparked by four straight aces by Ayanna Manikham, Rock Valley pulled away tallying 12 of the next 13 points to win going away 25-11.
The Golden Eagles took an early 4-1 lead in game two as coach Megan Kronschnabel's Chiefs looked to regroup. Waubonsee did just that by winning the next five points to go ahead 6-4 on an ace by Gianna Raimondi. Moments later a perfectly placed return touch shot by Raimondi gave the Chiefs an 8-5 lead. A service ace by Madison Marziani-Radomski extended the lead to 10-6. Rock Valley then responded by winning the next six points to grab a 12-10 lead. A kill by the 6'0" Weber in the middle of the net broke the Golden Eagles scoring streak. However, Rock Valley built its lead back up to four points before Colon recorded a kill down the left sideline to make it 16-13. Just as they had in the opening game, the Golden Eagles then began to pull away securing nine of the next dozen points on the way to capturing a 25-16 victory.
In game three Waubonsee forged a 5-1 lead courtesy of back-to-back aces by Izandra Graf. The Chiefs then grabbed a 6-3 lead as Weber made three great blocks to highlight a long volley that resulted in a point for the home team. A minute later a kill by Colon from the left side made it 8-4. But once again Rock Valley responded to win eight of the next nine points to pull ahead 12-9. A two-handed block by Weber again stopped the bleeding momentarily to cut the deficit to 14-11. The Golden Eagles' height advantage and power game continued to propel them as Manikham registered a spike and then served up a pair of aces to push the lead up to 18-13. After a Waubonsee timeout Weber booked another block for a point as the Chiefs tried to stay alive. But once more the Golden Eagles pulled away down the stretch by stringing together several points in a row on the way to winning 25-17.
Colon led the Chiefs with eight kills, while Graf and Marziani-Radomski recorded 19 and 20 digs, respectively. In Waubonsee's 3-1 win over Black Hawk College earlier in the day Colon and Weber were a one-two punch for Kronschnabel's crew. Colon finished with 19 kills and 21 digs, and Weber also tallied 19 kills. Raimondi was credited with 37 assists to go along with 28 digs, while Graf also booked 29 digs and Marziani-Radomski contributed seven aces and 27 digs. Waubonsee does not take to the court again until Wednesday, Oct. 5 when they travel to McHenry County College to battle the Fighting Scots in an Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference match beginning at 6:00 p.m.