AURORA, Ill. - The Regents volleyball team hit the road for the second straight weekend to take part in yet another early season tournament. This weekend the team took part in the eight team Jim Coleman Memorial Invitational, hosted by Aurora University. Rockford played two matches on Friday and then two more on Saturday to round out its weekend.

The Regents struggled in their two matches on Friday dropping both in straight sets 3-0 North Central College and 3-0 to Lake Forest College. Senior Nicole Lawler (Pearl City, Ill./Pearl City) had a very sharp all-around match for the Regents in their loss to Lake Forest. Lawler a game-high 10 kills in 23 attempts for the Regents along with a service ace. Defensively she added two solo blocks and seven digs to round out her match.

Saturday turned out to be a better day for Rockford as it split its two matches, losing 3-0 to Manchester College while defeating the Beloit College Buccaneers 3-1. The Regents win against the Buccaneers could be one of the best matches the team has played all season. Freshman setter Emily Johnson (Santee, Calif./Santee) had by far her best collegiate performance. Johnson recorded her first double-double of the season with a season-best 34 assists and a season-high 10 digs. Sophomore Laina Scheri (Cortland, Ill./DeKalb) returned to the court after missing the first tournament and made her presence felt, smashing 11 kills and recording 7 digs. Nicole Lawler continued to build on her impressive start to the season adding another 9 kills and 15 digs to her season totals. Junior Heather Hyland (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) also turned in her best performance of the season with 9 kills and 18 digs.

The volleyball team will open the home portion of its schedule on Thursday, September 13th when it hosts the Maranatha Baptist Bible College Crusaders. The match is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.