ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Regents volleyball team treated its fans to a thrilling five-set match on Tuesday evening at the Seaver Center. Rockford fell behind early dropping the first two sets before storming back to win sets three and four to force a fifth and deciding set. However, the Regents came up just a few points short as the Grinnell College Pioneers won the fifth set and match by a 3-2 final.
The Regents and Pioneers were fairly evenly matched as both team's statistics were nearly identical. Offensively Rockford recorded 53 kills and 24 errors on 162 attack attempts while Grinnell recorded 49 kills and 19 errors on 163 attack attempts. Serving the Regents finished with 10 aces and 12 serving errors compared to the Pioneers 9 aces and 12 serving errors. Defensively Rockford has been the best team in the NACC all season long and that did not change on Tuesday. Rockford totaled 85 digs, 19 block assists and 3 solo blocks. The Regents currently lead the NACC in each of those three categories by a wide margin.
Individually Rockford had nearly all of its players record double-figures in at least one statistical category. Sophomore setter Taylor Rossi (Ingleside, Ill./Grant Community) recorded her first triple-double of the season. Rossi had a season-high 13 kills along with 33 assists and 12 digs. Senior Katelyn Hasken (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) recorded 11 kills and 16 digs for Rockford. Senior libero Laina Scheri (Cortland, Ill./DeKalb) played an excellent match defensively tallying a match-high 26 digs. Erin Pederson (Oregon, Ill./Oregon) continued to be dual threat both offensively and defensively. Pederson hammered home 10 kills, had 14 digs, 3 block assists and 1 solo block. Kayla Kurz (Franklin Grove, Ill./Ashton Franklin Center) also played well on both sides of the ball tallying 10 kills, 4 digs, 3 block assists and 1 solo bock. Finally, the duo of Ashley Simmons (Naperville, Ill./North) and Peyton Achs (Erie, Ill./Eastland) was a dominant force at the net. The two combined for 11 block assists, 9 kills, 4 aces and 13 digs.
The volleyball team returns to the court this weekend when they participate in the Illinois College Tournament. The Regents are set to play two matches on Friday and two more Saturday with the first coming at 3:00 p.m. against Culver-Stockton.
