ASHLAND, Wis. - The Rockford University volleyball team traveled to northern Wisconsin on Friday for a two-day tournament at Northland College. The Regents opened up their slate of action with a pair of matches against Maranatha Baptist University and Northland College. Rockford fell in its opening match against the Sabercats 3-0 before rebounding with a convincing 3-0 win against the LumberJills.
Following a difficult opening set against Maranatha the Regents faught back and pushed the Sabercats to the limit in the second and third sets. However, Rockford ultimately came up just short falling in three sets (25-9, 25-20, 25-21). Offensively Kayla Kurz (Franklin Grove, Ill./Ashton-Franklin Center) led the Regents with a team-high 10 kills. Senior Katelyn Hasken (Lanark, Ill./Eastland) and freshman Ashley Simmons (Naperville, Ill./North) also struck the ball well recording 9 and 7 kills respectively. Sophomore Taylor Rossi (Ingleside, Ill./Grant Community) did a nice job setting up her teammates recording 31 assists. Defensively Laina Scheri (Cortland, Ill./DeKalb) and Erin Pederson (Oregon, Ill./Oregon) led the team in digs with 14 and 12 respectively.
After the tough loss earlier in the day to the Sabercats, the Regents regrouped for an impressive straight set win over Northland (25-16, 25-14, 25-14). Offensively Rockford used a well-balanced attack with four players recording at least 5 kills. Freshman Peyton Achs (Erie, Ill./Eastland) and junior Kayla Kurz spearheaded the Regents' attack with 7 kills each. Hasken recorded double-digit digs for the third time this season with a team-high 11 while Scheri broke double-digits for the fifth time this season with 10 digs. Rockford also continued to show why it is a strong defensive team at the net, as the Regents recorded 10 total blocks bringing its NACC leading total up to 96.
The volleyball team returns to action on Saturday with its final two matches in the Northland College Tournament. The Regents open with a match against Finlandia University at 2 PM and wrap up their weekend at 6 PM against Mount Mary University.
