HANCOCK, Mich. - The Rockford University volleyball team concluded its trip to Finlandia University with a pair of non-conference matches on Saturday. The Regents opened up against NACC foe MSOE before finishing the day against host Finlandia University. The opening match was a bit of a struggle as the Raiders defeated the Regents in straight sets 3-0. However, Rockford bounced back nicely with an impressive 3-1 win over the Lions.
In its first match of the day the Regents struggled to find any sort of rhythm against MSOE losing 25-14, 25-6 and 25-19. Senior Kayla Van Buren (Franklin Grove, Ill.) led Rockford with 6 kills on 16 attempts. She also tallied 3 digs and 2 block assists. Junior setter Taylor Rossi (Ingleside, Ill.) recorded a team-high 13 assists along with 3 digs and 1 block assist.
Despite the difficult loss earlier in the day, Rockford was able to rebound and finish off its weekend with a 3-1 win over Finlandia. In the opening set Rockford jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead and easily won set to grab an early 1-0 advantage. The second set was much more competitive as the Regents and Lions took turn holding the lead. At one point the Regents lead 25-24 with a chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead; however, it was the Lions who rallied for four of the next five points to take the second set and tie the match at 1-1. The third set followed a similar back-and-forth pattern as neither team was able to put the other away. Fortunately, it was the Regents who scored the final two points to win the set to go up 2-1. Although the fourth set was close throughout, the Regents never trailed and went on the set 25-22 and ultimately the match.
The Rockford offense was once again led by senior Kayla Van Buren. She tallied her first double-double of the season with a match-high 14 kills and a match-high 22 digs. Van Buren has now recorded double-digit kills in five of Rockford's last seven matches.
Junior Taylor Rossi also played well in Rockford's win notching her fifth double-double of the season. She had a season-high 14 digs and tied her season-high with 33 assists.
Alex Storey (Dexter, Mich.), Krista Beach (Ashton, Ill.) and Madison Lanquist (Rockford, Ill.) all played well defensively for Rockford. Storey and Beach each tied their season-highs with 12 and 11 digs respectively, while Lanquist's 10 digs put her in double-figures for the sixth time this year.
The RU women's volleyball team returns to the court on Tuesday, September 15 at home against Dominican University. The match has a scheduled start time of 7 p.m. in the Seaver Center.
