EUREKA, Ill. -- The Rockford University women's volleyball team competed at the Eureka College Triangular and split a pair of matches on Saturday.
Rockford fell to the hosts, Eureka College, 3-1 (25-18, 25-10, 20-25, 25-20), in the first match before bouncing back against Principia College, 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-11, 25-13).
In the first match against Eureka, the Red Devils got off to a quick start, leading 18-7 before the Regents scored six straight points to cut the deficit to five at 18-13. However, the Regent rally was not enough as Eureka held on to take the first set.
The Red Devils continued their strong play in the second set, winning 25-10. Rockford held its only lead of the set after a kill from
Emmerson Heun gave the Regents a 1-0 advantage.
Both teams battled back and forth in the third set until a kill from
Jayce Shaw sparked a 4-0 Regent run to give Rockford a 22-18 lead. The Regents eventually took the set, with
Ashley Mersch recording two key kills down the stretch to secure the victory.
After a strong start in the fourth set, the Regents saw the Red Devils go on a 12-4 run after Rockford grabbed an 8-6 lead early in the set. Eureka took an 18-12 lead and eventually closed out the set 25-20 to secure the match.
Rockford hit .037 for the match with 38 kills, 33 errors and 134 attempts.
Lilly Dewey led the Regents with 10 kills, while
Jalyn Rhodes and Heun added eight and seven, respectively.
Isabella Valdes recorded 22 assists, while
Leila Cooks, Valdes, and
Danica Grimm each recorded an ace.
Defensively, Grimm led the Regents with 13 digs, while Dewey recorded a double-double with 12 digs and 10 kills on the offensive side, and Cooks added 11. Dewey and Rhodes also recorded three blocks each.
In the match against Principia College, the Regents dropped a tight first set as neither team had more than a three-point lead. Rockford held an 8-7 lead following a kill from Rhodes before the Panthers took the lead late in the set with a 4-0 run to go up 19-17. Principia held on to take the set.
The Regents found their edge in the second set, going on a 7-0 run to take a 12-8 lead after trailing 8-5 early. Rockford held steady the rest of the set to tie the match.
Principia scored the first five points of the third set before Rockford took complete control, going on a 19-2 run as the Regents took the set 25-11 and a 2-1 lead in the match. The Regents continued their strong play in the fourth set, trailing only once at 1-0 before dominating the remainder of the set and taking a 25-13 victory to secure the 3-1 match win.
Rockford hit .033 against Principia with 30 kills, 26 errors and 120 attempts.
Kennedy Bryant led the Regents with seven kills, while Rhodes and Dewey added six and five, respectively. Heun and Rhodes each recorded eight assists, while Cooks and Dewey added six assists apiece.
Dewey and Valdes led the Regents with 16 and 15 digs, respectively, while Heun recorded two blocks.
The Regents will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Buena Vista Tournament against Buena Vista University and Martin Luther College, beginning at 11 a.m.
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