MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Rockford University volleyball team fell in straight sets on Tuesday night to the MSOE Raiders. Despite the loss the Regents played much better than in recent matches. Rockford's 28 kills were the most the Regents have had in match in over two weeks and it gave the team a chance win in multiple sets.
The opening set was struggle as the Raiders used an early 8-1 run to build a comfortable lead. Unfortunately, the Regents were never able to cut into the MSOE lead and lost the first set 25-14.
Although Rockford never led in the second set, the Regents battled the entire way and almost pulled off an amazing come from behind win. Rockford once again fell behind early trailing by as many as 10 points before mounting a furious comeback. After trailing 18-8, the Regents scored 12 of the next 17 points to pull back within three at 20-23. However it was not enough as the Raiders scored two of the next four points to grab a 2-0 advantage.
Rockford again put up a fight in the third and final set before ultimately losing the match 3-0. The Regents got off to a good start grabbing the lead on multiple occasions. However, it was once again the Raiders who were able to string together points to take an 18-11 advantage. Rockford did have one final push left as the ladies were able to pull back within two points on two separate occasions. Unfortunately MSOE would score the final four points of the match to win the third set 25-19.
At the net the Regents were led by junior Liberty Hartman (Freeport, Ill.). Hartman recorded both a team and season-high 11 kills on 26 attempts. She rounded out her night with 7 digs, 1 assist and 1 service ace.
Fellow juniors Amanda Korte (Davis, Ill.) and Taylor Rossi (Ingleside, Ill.) both had good individual performances as well. Korte had an impressive 3 kills on just 4 attack attempts along with a block solo. Rossi tallied 22 assists, 8 digs, 3 kills, 1 ace and 1 block assist.
The Rockford University volleyball team returns to the court on Friday, October 16 at home against Marian University. The match has a scheduled start time of 6:30 p.m. in the Seaver Center.
