ST. MARY-WOODS, Ind. -- The Rockford University men's volleyball team completed the first day of the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Tournament with a sweep of the Calumet College of St. Joseph Crimson Wave.
Nathan Simons led the Regents with five kills and also added two aces and six digs.
Tsubasa Namai was all over the place with 19 assists and three kills of his own.
Jacob Brewster paced the team with 12 digs.
Rockford jumped on Calumet early in the first set. They sprinted out to a 6-2 lead before the Crimson Wave put up some fight. It was 8-5 when the Regents rallied off a 16-2 run to essentially clinch the set. They would eventually take it 25-13.
Set #2 was much more evenly matched. Both sides traded 4-0 runs to start the game, and went back and forth to the very end. Tied 18-18, Rockford was finally able to take control with three straight points and closed the set off with a 7-3 run to go up two sets to none in the match.
The third set was a thriller. The Crimson Wave came out strong with their backs against the wall, holding separate 7-3, 10-6, 14-10, and 17-13 advantages. The Regents then mounted a huge comeback, getting help from a lot of Calumet errors and a few
Jordan Hurst kills. Down 19-18, they went off on a 5-0 run to seal the deal and finish out the sweep with a 25-22 win.
The Regents complete the tournament on Saturday, Jan. 31, with an 11 a.m. EDT match against Goshen College and then a 2 p.m. EDT match vs. Simpson University (Calif.).
