DECATUR, Ill. - The Rockford University men's volleyball team (0-5) continued to show signs of improvement on Tuesday, but ultimately fell 3-0 on the road to Millikin University (1-6). The Regents played better in each successive set, culminating with 10 kills on 28 attack attempts in the third set. Rockford also set new program-highs as a team with 24 kills and 20 assists. Unfortunately, it was not enough, as Rockford fell 25-12, 25-16 and 25-18.
- The first set went back-and-forth over the first 13 points with Rockford holding a 7-6 lead. Four different Regents tallied a kill early on, including Jeremy Weaver, Randall Simental, Marcus Pennington and Maurice Hogan.
- Unfortunately, momentum quickly swung in Millikin's favor. The Big Blue promptly went on a 13-1 run en route to winning the opening set 25-12.
- The second set had a similar feel as it was close during the opening moments. The Big Blue scored six of the first nine points to grab a quick 9-6 advantage.
- Millikin then scored five straight points to extend its lead to 14-6.
- Rockford was unable to get any closer than seven points the remainder of the way, dropping the second set 25-16.
- The third set was extremely close nearly the entire way.
- With Millikin holding a 7-3 lead, Rockford scored three straight points, beginning with a Marcus Pennington kill, to pull back within one at 7-6.
- The Big Blue responded with two straight points, to push its lead back to three.
- The Millikin lead hovered around three points for nearly the entire remainder of the set.
- However, the Big Blue used a 7-3 run to take the set and win the match 3-0.
The Rockford University men's volleyball team returns to the court on Friday, February 7 for a pair of matches at the Judson Invitational. Rockford will face host Judson at 10 AM and Aquinas at 4:30 PM.
