(Sugar Grove, IL) – Waubonsee Community College's volleyball team saw its three-game winning streak snapped as visiting Joliet Junior College prevailed 3-0 in the Chiefs' home opener for the 2023 season. The Wolves (6-8) held off a late rally by Waubonsee (4-5) to take the opening set 26-24. Joliet then pulled out game two 25-21 before rallying for a 25-23 triumph in the third set to complete the sweep.
The visiting Wolves tallied the first point of the match before Waubonsee's Abby Colon registered her first kill of the evening with a power spike to give the Chiefs an early 2-1 lead in the opening set. Waubonsee grabbed an 8-6 lead on a kill by Elaina Evers until a pair of errors allowed Joliet to knot the score at 9-all. A minute later a long volley, extended by a great save by Colon and Gianna Raimondi, ended in the Chiefs' favor after a Joliet misfire. Neither team garnered more than a two-point lead in a close battle until Joliet forged ahead 19-16. After a Waubonsee timeout by head coach Megan Kronschnabel, the Chiefs rallied to within a point at 20-19 on a beautiful teardrop return by Evers. However, the Wolves booked the next four points to take a 24-19 lead. A spike by Evers from the middle of the net stemmed the tide and sparked a Waubonsee run. An ace by Raimondi and another power kill by Evers suddenly tied the game at 24. But a service error and a misfire by the Chiefs gave Joliet a 26-24 victory.
A monster kill by Evers highlighted the early going in the second set as Waubonsee took a 4-2 lead. The Chiefs held a 7-5 lead before Joliet reeled off five straight points to snag a 10-7 lead. An emphatic spike at the net by Kjersten Friestad then helped Joliet push its' lead to 14-8. Once again Waubonsee rallied, pulling to within 16-15 on a kill by Colon. A carrying violation on Joliet allowed Waubonsee to tie the score as another nip-and-tuck battle commenced. The Chiefs pulled in front 19-17 before Jordan Fleming finished off a kill for the Wolves to tie the game at 19. The teams alternated points with Waubonsee's Ella Bowgren smacking down a left-handed spike at the net to deadlock things at 21. However, Joliet's front line took over from there by recording three straight kills. A return error on the Chiefs then ended the game 25-21 and gave the Wolves a commanding two game to none lead.
Game three was nearly identical to the first two as the teams primarily traded points until Waubonsee tallied a pair of scores to take a 7-3 lead. A kill by Colon down the left side extended the advantage to 10-5. Joliet responded with three quick scores before Evers tallied a point from the back row. A block by and then kill by Tauja Crump, and a touch shot by Crump dropped in to make it 13-10. A moment later Evers elevated high above the net and instead of slamming the ball down, lightly tapped it into an open area on the Wolves side to help propel Waubonsee to a 16-10 lead. However, Joliet would not go away and clawed its way back to within two points at 18-16. A kill by Evers made the score 20-18 and momentarily stopped the Wolves' momentum. Another spike by Colon down the left side helped the Chiefs keep Joliet at bay for the moment. However, a service error and miscommunication by Waubonsee allowed Joliet to get within a point at 23-22. The Wolves then pulled ahead after a prolonged volley went their way and another return error by Waubonsee to suddenly set up game and match point. Morgan Beaudry then capped off the Wolves come from behind win with a kill into the middle of the floor.
Waubonsee was led by Evers who booked 17 and 10 digs, while Colon added nine kills to up her team-leading total to 78 through nine matches. Raimondi was credited with 32 assists and Norah Molitor chipped in with 16 digs in the loss. The Chiefs are in action again next Wednesday, September 13 when they host Morton College in an Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference match beginning at 6:00 p.m. in Erickson Hall Gymnasium on Waubonsee's Sugar Grove campus.
