ST. MARY-WOODS, Ind. -- The Rockford University men's volleyball team started off day two of the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Tournament with a loss to the Goshen College Maple Leafs.
Jordan Hurst led the way with nine kills while also contributing three digs and an ace.
Tsubasa Namai continued his excellent facilitation, leading the team by a good margin with 22 assists.
Jacob Brewster was the leader in digs, totaling 10.
Goshen proved to be a formidable opponent right from the get-go. They strode out to a 4-1 lead and kept the foot on the gas, going up 10-3. Rockford fought back in the middle part of the set, getting multiple kills from Brewster and
Nathan Simons. It wasn't enough, as the Maple Leafs went on another 10-3 run to end the set, winning 25-15.
The second set wasn't much different. The Maple Leafs rode that momentum from the first set into a 12-2 lead to start set number two, as Goshen prevailed 25-11.
The third set had more back-and-forth action. The common theme throughout the entirety of this match was Goshen starting out hot, and did once more with a 7-3 lead. Rockford was able to cut the lead to one, down 14-13, before the Maple Leafs tore off on a 4-0 run before an RU timeout. The Regents responded with their own 4-0 run, and each team went toe-to-toe down the stretch. Tied at 24 apiece, Goshen was able to secure the two points needed to win the third set and complete the sweep.
The Regents took on Simpson University (Calif.) later in the afternoon to finish off their first tournament of the season.
