Morton College's volleyball team carted off the Skyway Conference's top honors with the Player and Coach of the Year awards going to the Panthers.

Nina Jasiecka, a sophomore, became Morton College's first Skyway Player of the Year since Nicole Heinzl in 2004. Jasiecka was instrumental in the Panthers' perfect 6-0 Skyway season, hitting .357 with 58 kills and 17 blocks.  

She had four matches with 10 or more kills, including a 16-kill, 15-dig, 9-block performance in the Panthers' 3-1 win over Waubonsee.

Steve Dowjotas picked up the Skyway's Coach of the Year honors for guiding the Panthers to their first league crown since 1981 and just the program's second overall championship. The Panthers enter the Region 4 playoffs with a 26-5 record, one win away from tying the program's single-season high for victories.

Along the way, Morton College beat Moraine Valley for the first time since 2001. This is Dowjotas' fifth season at Morton College. He's led the Panthers to 23-10 mark in Skyway play with a winning record in all five campaigns.

Joining Jasiecka on the all-Skyway First Team was freshman Sophia Swiderski, who hit .408 and produced 78 and 10 service aces in league play. Swiderski also had four 10-plus kill matches with back-to-back 14-kill efforts against Waubonsee and Lake County to close the Skyway season. She also hit .400 in all but one league contest.

Diana Stetsko picked up all-Skyway Second Team honors. The sophomore hit .238 in league action with 31 kills, 54 digs and 15 service aces. She rang up 6 aces against Elgin and 4 vs. Waubonsee.

Playoff picture
The Panthers earned the second seed in the 16-team Region 4 playoffs and open with a home match against 15th-seed Black Hawk at 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 5th.

The winner advances to the District B semifinals against No. 7 Highland or No. 10 Waubonsee at 4 p.m. Saturday, November 8th at Madison College. The championship match is the following day at 2:30 p.m.

November 5th quarterfinals (all matches at 6 p.m.)
District A
No. 16 McHenry at No. 1 Madison
No. 9 Lake County at No. 8 Lake County
No. 13 Moraine Valley at No. 4 Harper
No. 12 Illinois Valley at No. 5 Milwaukee Area Tech

District B
No. 15 Black Hawk at No. 2 Morton College
No. 10 Waubonsee at No. 7 Highland
No. 14 Triton at No. 3 Sauk Valley
No. 11 Carl Sandburg at No. 6 Kankakee

November 8th semifinals at Madison College
District A
11 a.m. - No. 16 McHenry-No. 1 Madison winner vs. No. 9 Lake County at No. 8 Lake County winner
1 p.m. - No. 13 Moraine Valley-No. 4 Harper winner vs. No. 12 Illinois Valley-No. 5 Milwaukee Area Tech winner
4 p.m. - No. 15 Black Hawk-No. 2 Morton College winner vs. No. 10 Waubonsee-No. 7 Highland winner
6 p.m. - No. 14 Triton-No. 3 Sauk Valley winner vs. No. 11 Carl Sandburg-No. 6 Kankakee winner

November 9th finals at Madison College
Noon – District A championship
2:30 p.m. – District B championship

Season finale
The Panthers wrangled a split at their regular-season ending triangular, defeating Danville 3-1 (25-12, 25-15, 21-25, 27-25) and falling to No. 1 Parkland 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-20) November 1st.

Nina Jasiecka (19 kills, 4 blocks), Diana Stetsko (11 kills, 13 digs, 5 blocks), Sophia Swiderski (10 kills, 13 digs, 3 aces), Valencia Carrera (19 digs, 2 aces), Marija Radovic (34 assists), Neda Stojanovic (3 kills), Journee Fulton (2 kills) and Abby Monahan (3 aces) paced the Panthers against Danville.

Morton College did enjoy a 7-3 lead in the third game against Parkland, which was the second No. 1-nationally ranked team the Panthers faced in 2025.

Only the best
Of Morton College's five losses this season, four have come against teams ranked in the NJCAA Division II's top five – two vs. No. 1 Parkland and one apiece against No. 4 Cowley and No. 5 Kansas City Kansas.