LISLE, Ill. - The Rockford University volleyball team concluded its 5-match road trip on Saturday morning against the Benedictine University Eagles. The Regents were looking to close out their season with back-to-back Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference wins following their impressive 3-1 win on Wednesday at Wisconsin Lutheran. However, despite its best efforts, Rockford came up just short falling to Benedictine 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-15, 27-25).
The match was close throughout as the Regents and Eagles battled back and forth for much of the day. The opening set was tight the entire way as neither team was able to extend its lead beyond three points until the final point. The two teams traded points for much of the set and were tied 17-17 coming down the stretch run. However it was the Eagles who closed the set on an 8-4 run to take a 1-0 lead. After the tough loss in set one, the Regents got off to a sluggish start in set two falling behind early 14-6. Despite digging themselves into an early hole, the ladies never gave up and fought their way back with an 11-3 run to tie it at 17-17. Rockford continued to build on its momentum and closed by scoring 8 of the final 13 points to tie the match at 1-1. After dropping the third set, the Regents were once again locked in a tight battle with set four being played within a 5-point range. The largest lead came late in the set when the Regents held a 20-17 edge over the Eagles. However Benedictine closed on a 10-5 run to win the fourth set and the match.
Offensively the Regents had a trio of players finish the match with double-digit kills. Junior Kayla Kurz (Franklin Grove, Ill./Ashton-Franklin Center) once again led the Rockford attack. Kurz finished with a team-high 14 kills. Freshman Ashley Simmons (Naperville, Ill./North) narrowly missed a double-double as she recorded 12 kills, 9 digs and 4 assists. Senior Katelyn Hasken (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) finished her career on Saturday with a double-double by tallying 11 kills and 14 digs. Setter Taylor Rossi (Ingleside, Ill./Grant Community) saved one of her best performances of the season for the final match of the year. The sophomore had a season-high 43 assists and narrowly missed a triple-double with 10 digs and 7 kills on just 12 attack attempts.
The Regents finished the season in 10th place in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference with a 9-17 overall record including going 2-9 in NACC play.
