ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Rockford University men's volleyball team swept a pair of matches on the road Thursday afternoon against Greenville University and Franklin College. Rockford opened with a tight battle with Greenville to start the day, eventually falling in the first set (24-26). However, the Regents won the next three sets in a row (25-20, 25-23, 25-16) to defeat the Panthers 3-1 in the opening match. The nightcap followed a similar flow to the first match, except the Regents took the first set in a battle (25-23) and then won the next two sets handily (25-16, 25-20) for the match win in straight sets over the Grizzlies. Between the two matches, Rockford put up 101 kills while holding their opponents to a combined 44 kills on the day.
Rockford 3 Greenville 1 (24-26, 25-20, 25-23, 25-16)
- The first set opened with a 7-2 Greenville lead after six straight points from the Panthers.
- Rockford battled back with a big 9-4 run to make it a 12-11 Greenville lead, with two kills from Danny Karpenko and one each from Tsubasa Namai, Isaiah Dixon and Josh Albers during that stretch.
- Greenville continued to hold the slight edge on the Regents, eventually holding a 20-17 lead.
- However, Rockford battled back with back-to-back kills from Isaiah Dixon and Danny Karpenko and a Panther error to tie the set at 21-21, but after battling back and forth over the next few points the Panthers were able to take the first set 26-24 after two straight points to close the set.
- Greenville and Rockford traded points to a 5-4 Greenville lead to start the second set.
- The Regents and Panthers continued to battle throughout the opening stages of this set to a 13-10 Greenville lead, but then Rockford took control with five straight points to take a 15-13 lead.
- This seemed to be the turning point of the set as the Panthers never got any closer and Rockford eventually closed out the second set 25-20 to tie up the match at 1-1.
- The Regents got out to a slight 7-5 lead to open the third set after a kill from Josh Albers.
- The Regents were able to stay in front until the Panthers tied the set at 12-12, and they later took the lead with a mini 6-4 run that gave them an 18-16 lead.
- Fortunately, Rockford battled back with a 6-4 run of its own to regain the lead at 22-20 and traded points with Greenville until the Regents were eventually able to come out on top 25-23.
- Rockford and Greenville opened the fourth set to a 9-9 tie.
- Both teams then traded a pair of 3-0 runs to a 12-12 score and Rockford followed that up with a massive 9-3 run to take control of the set 21-15. The Regents were led by Isaiah Dixon, who had an impressive 5 kills during that run.
- Rockford took four out of the next five points, including four straight to finish the set 25-16 and ultimately win the match by a final score of 3-1.
Rockford 3 Franklin 0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-20)
- The Grizzlies got out to a 6-1 lead to open the second match of the day for Rockford.
- Franklin grew its lead to as much as seven in this set, eventually leading 15-8.
- However, Rockford mustered up a huge 9-2 run that tied the score at 17-17. The Regents were led by Isaiah Dixon and Danny Karpenko, who each had two kills during the big run.
- Franklin and Rockford kept battling to a 22-22 score, but fortunately, Joseis Dixon was able to come through for the Regents, recording three kills over the next four points to secure the first set for Rockford 25-23.
- The Regents roared to a 6-0 lead to begin the second set.
- Rockford stayed in control, eventually holding a 12-5 lead after a kill from Danny Karpenko and an ace from Joseis Dixon.
- The Grizzlies battled back with a 7-4 run to cut the Rockford lead to 16-12, but Rockford erased that by scoring the next three points, capped off by a Josh Bowling kill to make it a 19-12 score.
- The Regents maintained at least a six-point lead for the remainder of the set and later closed out to a 25-16 score to go up 2-0 in the match.
- Rockford grabbed a 6-5 lead over Franklin to start the third set after back-to-back kills from Danny Karpenko and a Grizzlies error gave the Regents the lead.
- The Grizzlies took control of the lead with a 5-2 run to take a 10-8 lead, capped off by three straight points from Franklin.
- However, Rockford responded with four straight points to regain the lead at 12-10, thanks to two kills by Isaiah Dixon during that stretch.
- The Regents and Grizzlies continued to battle, leading to a 15-15 score, but Rockford was able to grab control of the set late with a 7-2 run to take a 22-17 lead.
- This proved to be the turning point in the set as Rockford eventually came out on top 25-20, capped off by a Joseis Dixon kill to win the third set and the match in straight sets.
Greenville Match
- Isaiah Dixon provided a match-high 16 kills on a career-high .520 hitting percentage, 1 ace and 1 dig.
- Danny Karpenko delivered a career-high 13 kills on a.522 hitting percentage, picking up 2 aces, 1 assists, 2 digs and a block as well.
- Josh Albers added 10 kills, 22 assists and 7 digs.
- Tsubasa Namai had 24 assists, 2 aces, a career-high 5 kills, and tied his career-high with 2 blocks.
Franklin Match
- Isaiah Dixon had a match-high 14 kills, 2 assists, 1 ace, 2 blocks and 1 dig.
- Danny Karpenko added 10 kills on a .588 hitting percentage, 1 ace, 2 blocks and 2 digs.
- Joseis Dixon had 10 kills on a season-high .368 hitting percentage, a season-high 9 digs, 1 ace and 1 assist.
- Tsubasa Namai delivered a season-high 30 assists, 2 blocks, 6 digs and 3 kills.
