Madonna wins women's volleyball tournament

LIVONIA, Mich. - (TOURNAMENT PAGE) - Madonna swept Cornerstone 3-0 in the final match of the 2021 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Women's Volleyball Tournament to claim its 11th tournament title. The Crusaders made fast work of the match, winning 25-18, 25-13, and 25-13.

Both teams have qualified for the 2021 NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Opening Round Nov. 20 on campus sites. Madonna takes the first automatic berth as conference champion and Cornerstone gets the second automatic berth as tournament runner-up.

Madonna scored first in the opening set and never trailed, although Cornerstone tied the set up several time. Up by one at 16-15, MU scored the next six points to the put the set out of reach.

Cornerstone again was able to stay close to the Crusaders in the early on in the second set until MU went on a 5-1 run to open up the gap. Madonna then closed out the set with a 9-2 run.

MU scored the first four games of the third set and continued powering through, gaining as much as a 10-point lead at 14-4. Cornerstone tried to chip away at the lead and got to within five at 17-12 until Madonna scored the next five points to secure the title.

Jodie Kelly had a match-high 16 kills, along with 11 digs, and Kacie Stoneburner added eight for the Crusaders. Jordyn Dawson finished with 36 assists and Olivia Sweeney had 13 digs. Madonna now takes a 29-5 season record into the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.

Rylie Walters and Olivia Keelean led Cornerstone with nine kills each. Aubrey Lenz handed out 24 assists. Patsy Morris finished with team-high 13 digs. Cornerstone sits at 24-14 heading into the national tournament.