ROCKFORD, Ill. -- The Rockford University women's volleyball team fell to the Concordia University Chicago Cougars on Wednesday evening, 3-1.
It was kill by committee for RU.
Ashley Mersch led the team with seven, while
Kennedy Bryant and
Jalyn Rhodes each had six.
Milee Law found her way to 15 assists.
Isabella Valdes totaled nine.
Leila Cooks and
Carlie Buetsch held it down in the back row, finishing with 13 and 12 digs, respectively.
It took awhile for either team to grab control to start the match. CUC finally pulled away with five straight points in the first set, to go up 15-9. Rockford never got it back within four, falling 25-17.
The Regents made up for the loss in the second set, and some. They rattled off seven straight points, including three straight Mersch kills, to grab the upper hand, 12-3. They didn't look back, dominating 25-15 to even the match.
The importance of the third set could be felt throughout the Seaver Center. Both sides took turns going on runs. Concordia Chicago's largest lead was six, but it didn't stop the Regents from charging back to make it 22-21. CUC would eventually close Rockford out and take control, 25-22.
It looked like Rockford was going to bounce back for about half of the fourth set. As the Regents led 10-8 after a Rhodes kill, assisted by Law. Unfortunately they would only score five more points in the set. Every bounce went the Cougar's way en route to a 25-15 set finish and a 3-1 match victory.
The Regents will return to action on Saturday, Sep. 26, when they travel to Galesburg for a triangular against Knox at 10 a.m. and Principia at noon.
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