(Sugar Grove, IL.) – Joliet Junior College spoiled Waubonsee Community College's final volleyball home match of the 2025 season. The visiting Wolves (12-15), behind the strength of their front-line height, up ended the Chiefs (16-18) three games to one on Thursday evening in Waubonsee's Field House. Joliet held on to take the opener 25-22 before pulling away in the second set for a 25-15 win and grab a commanding lead in the non-conference battle. Waubonsee bounced back to win an exciting third set 25-21. But the Wolves won the action-packed match, which featured numerous long volleys and great digs by both teams, by rallying to take a nail-biting fourth game 28-26.
The Wolves tallied the first four points of the match highlighted by a pair of blocks by 6'2" Abby Viano. Off that momentum the visitors built an 11-3 lead keyed by a pair of spikes by 5'10" Aubrey Phillips. A kill from the left side by Adrianna Larsen got Waubonsee on track as they tried to cut into the deficit. But a dunk return by Viano and another block by Joliet for a point helped extended the lead to 17-7. A tough dig by Ashley Collins led to a kill by Lejla Dulan as the Chiefs got within seven points. However, after a Joliet timeout, the Wolves scored twice off tandem blocks to regain the momentum. A minute later Alexis Jacquez made a spectacular save and Makayla McNally finished off the volley with a thunderous kill. Collins then followed with a spike of her own to suddenly pull the Chiefs to within three at 21-18. Moments later Waubonsee pulled even at 21-all on an ace by Kailey Ramirez. The Wolves responded again Livija Luzaite scored a power spike to make it 23-21. Phillips followed with a serve that hit the top of the net and rolled over the top, dropping in for an ace. The Wolves' 6'0" middle hitter Christian Bouie then finished off game with a kill from the right side.
Game two featured both teams going on mini-scoring streaks. Joliet went ahead 3-0 before Waubonsee came back to win the next three points and knot the score. An ace by Larsen and a kill by Joey Wolgast put the Chiefs in front 6-4. But the Wolves tallied the next five points to jump ahead 9-6 before Waubonsee came back again to even things up. Joliet then booked the next six straight points to surge ahead 15-9 and force Waubonsee head coach Steve Kish to call a timeout. Unfortunately, the Wolves kept the momentum going and were able to build a 19-11 lead. A big kill by Collins along the right sideline momentarily stemmed the tide. Joliet pulled away from there leading by as many as 10 points. Another big block by Viano helped the Wolves close out a 25-15 victory.
Game three started with Larsen recording a kill from the left side as the Chiefs jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead. The Wolves clawed their way back to tie it at 4-all on a pair of aces by Elizabeth Herrera while running off seven straight points. Larsen then blasted a spike from the back row to help get Waubonsee within one at 12-11. Moments later an ace by Sarah Boness drew the Chiefs even at 13-all and the freshman from Oswego delivered a laser serve a minute later for another ace to put Waubonsee ahead 15-13. After a Joliet timeout the Chiefs won the next two points as well and held an 18-14 lead heading down the stretch. A big block by Viano cut the home team's lead down to three at 19-16 as they tried to hold on. Back-to-back blocks by Joliet kept the visitors within striking distance before Waubonsee took a 24-20 lead. A service error by Waubonsee, the fourth of the set, momentarily kept the Wolves alive. A moment later a return error gave the Chiefs a 25-21 victory.
A pair of attack errors by Waubonsee allowed Joliet to grab a 5-2 lead early in the fourth set. Ramirez then scored on a soft drop shot just out of the reach of Bouie as the Chiefs battled to within 6-5. Waubonsee registered the next six points as well, capped off by a power kill by Collins, to suddenly take an 11-6 lead. After a Joliet timeout the Chiefs extended their lead to 14-6 as they scored 10 straight points. McNally then smashed a kill from the middle of the net to give Waubonsee a 16-9 lead before Collins scored an ace. However, Joliet cut the deficit to 19-17 on a pair of service aces by Ellie Norquist and a kill by Luzaite. Another ace by Norquist made it a one-point game, and a monster kill by Bouie and an ace by Abby Rivera tied the game at 20-all. It was a back-and-forth battle from there as McNally responded with a kill of her own as the Chiefs desperately worked to even the match. Joliet forged ahead 22-21 before Collins blasted a kill from the right side to knot the score. An ace by Boness then put Waubonsee ahead once again and just two points away from victory. However, a service error tied the score before McNally spiked a feed from Ramirez to make it 24-23. With a chance to win the set, a Chiefs' block landed out of bounds to tie the score once more. A great dig by Jacquez kept the ensuing volley alive and Viano's return shot went into the net to give Waubonsee a 25-24 lead. But the Chiefs' return shot on the next volley was wide right down the sideline to knot things up again. Waubonsee took a 26-25 lead seconds later courtesy of a Joliet service error. But a vital block by Viano tied it up again and Norquist followed with an ace to put the Wolves in the lead. After a Chiefs timeout Norquist put an end to the match with another sizzling service ace for a 28-26 Wolves win.
Collins paced the Chiefs with a dozen kills and 16 digs. Larsen also registered 16 digs to go along with six kills. Ramirez was credited with 13 assists, while Jacquez tallied 12 digs and Boness contributed three aces. Kish's crew finishes out the regular season with five straight road matches against Rock Valley College, South Suburban College, McHenry County College, Illinois Valley Community College and Sauk Valley Community College. The Chiefs are set to begin post-season play in the Region 4 Tournament beginning on Wednesday, November 5 versus a yet-to-be-determined opponent, with the higher seeded team being the host for that match.