ASHLAND, Wis. - The Rockford University volleyball team played its final two matches at the Northland College Tournament on Saturday. Rockford opened with a 3-1 loss to Bethany Lutheran before dropping an exciting five-set match to Finlandia University.
Rockford's first match against Bethany Lutheran was hotly contested as three of the four sets were decided by four points or less. The match got off to great start as Rockford won the opening set 25-22 to take a 1-0 lead. However the Vikings would bounce back winning the second set 25-15 to even the match at 1-1. The third and fourth sets were both close throughout, but unfortunately it was the Vikings who came out on top in both, 25-23 and 25-21, to win the match 3-1. Offensively the Regents were led by the trio of Emily Johannes (Eau Claire, Wis.), Maddison Hiland (Bellevue, Iowa) and Alex Storey (Dexter, Mich.). Johannes continued her stellar play leading the team with 11 kills and 10 digs. Hiland was again very efficient attacking the ball as she recorded 8 kills in just 16 attempts, while Storey finished with 7 kills. Defensively Rockford was led by the duo of Jennifer Quintas (Rockford, Ill.) and August Guest (Lahaina, Hawaii). Quintas finished with a match-high 17 digs, while Guest had a season-high 13 digs.
The Regents' final match of the weekend against Finlandia University came down to the wire. Rockford once again got off to a fast start winning the first set 25-22 to grab an early 1-0 advantage. However the Lions would take sets two and three to pull out in front 2-1. Despite losing two straight sets, the Regents continued to battle and fight winning the fourth set 25-19 to force a fifth and deciding set. Unfortunately though it was not meant to be as the Lions took the fifth set 15-7 to win the match 3-2. Johannes and Hiland again led the Regents attack, as both finished with double-digit kills. Johannes recorded her second double-double of the day with a team-high 14 kills and 15 digs. Hiland had another good performance recording 10 kills and 5 digs. Setter Kayla Barthels (Fort Worth, Tex.) played a nice all around game with 30 assists and 12 digs. Defensively Rockford was led by Quintas, who finished with a season-high 23 digs.
The RU volleyball team returns to the court on Wednesday, September 13 to begin NACC play at Alverno College. The match has a scheduled start time of 7:00 PM.
