OTTAWA — Jacie Wyatt sprinted from the front of Rochelle’s net to the back wall of Ottawa’s Kingman Gymnasium during a critical point in the Lady Hubs varsity volleyball team’s conference match against the Lady Pirates on Thursday.

After a tipped ball soared several feet behind Rochelle’s side of the court, the senior Wyatt refused to let her team fall behind, racing to the ball and bouncing it back with one hand to keep alive what should have been Ottawa’s point. The deflection was one of two Wyatt ran down deep in Rochelle territory, but the Lady Hubs were unable to capitalize on her efforts, with the girls falling in two sets by a score of 20-25, 19-25.

“She’s an all-around volleyball player who doesn’t ever stop,” head coach John Pfaff said. “She doesn’t get too high and she doesn’t get too low. She’s really smooth and she plays at a nice, level competitive pace. It’s nice to have her speed back there because you want someone who can run from corner to corner on the court, but Jacie can run from corner to corner in the gym.”

Neither Rochelle (6-17-2) nor Ottawa built up much momentum throughout the match, but the Lady Pirates gained the edge by committing fewer errors than the Lady Hubs. Rochelle totaled more service errors (6) than aces (4), and the Lady Hubs recorded nearly as many hitting errors (14) as kills (15). Junior Grace Orlikowski led Rochelle with four kills, while sophomore Katie Van Hise stepped up with three kills.

“It’s hard for us right now,” Pfaff said. “We have to find something to help us get on a roll. We’ll make a couple of good plays and earn 1 or 2 points in a row, and then we’ll shank a pass, miss a serve or do something else to lose that momentum. As a coach I have to do something different and find something to help spark the girls so we can push past some teams and get a win.”

Junior Sarah Craven recorded 11 digs to lead all Rochelle players. The Lady Hubs will compete in the Dixon Invitational this weekend before continuing match play against LaSalle-Peru and Sterling.