The Rochelle varsity volleyball team is having one of its better seasons in recent years, and an integral piece to Rochelle’s success this fall has been the offensive firepower from Lady Hub senior outside hitter Emma Mehrings.

The Lady Hubs will open their regional bracket against Stillman Valley on Monday, and a victory over the Cardinals would be Rochelle’s 15^th of the season, tying the school’s number of total wins over the previous two seasons combined. While she may not possess the height that other big hitters in the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference carry, Mehrings has scored key performance for the Lady Hubs this season.

Mehrings recorded double-doubles when Rochelle upset LaSalle-Peru on Sept. 13 (13 kills and 12 digs) and when the Lady Hubs outlasted Ottawa in three games on Oct. 4 (10 kills and 13 digs). The high number of digs aren’t surprising for someone who grew up playing setter and libero before transitioning to outside hitter.

“This team has really connected,” Mehrings said. “We’re a very close group of girls and I think that shows on the court because we know how to work together and we know how to pick each other up… I think we’ve done really well this season, and we always play our hardest against tough teams. Beating LaSalle-Peru really showed the improvement in our skills.”

Mehrings started playing volleyball in fourth grade at St. Paul before beginning club volleyball with Fusion in fifth grade. Mehrings also participated in the Rochelle Juniors volleyball program growing up, and she’s played alongside many of the same girls on Rochelle’s varsity team for the past several years.

“I thought volleyball would be something I’d like,” Mehrings said. “I enjoy the intensity and I like how it’s both a team sport and an individual sport. We have to work together but each player has to do her part on the court. I’ve played with a lot of the seniors and some of the juniors in Rochelle Juniors together, and I even played with some of the juniors at St. Paul.”

Mehrings didn’t fully make the transition to outside hitter until arriving at Rochelle Township High School her freshman year. She played sparingly on the varsity team over her first two years before becoming the starting outside hitter during her junior year. She said outside hitter has become her favorite position because of the opportunity she has to earn big kill shots.

“I think the coaches saw something in practice so they took the initiative,” Mehrings said. “They asked me to try the position out and it wound up being a good fit. I like getting a really good set and hitting the ball hard.”

Mehrings said she wasn’t expecting to play varsity volleyball during her freshman year, but she also said the experience helped her adapt to the pace and the level of play she’s now seeing as an upperclassman. She said that learning under older teammates including role model Jacie Wyatt have allowed her to help her younger teammates along during matches.

“We always try to bring ourselves together and talk about what we need to do,” Mehrings said. “Whether it’s this or that… I think that helped me the most as a younger player on varsity, and that’s what I try to do too.”

Rochelle’s regional bracket includes three teams the Lady Hubs have seen this season including Stillman Valley and Marengo, who Rochelle has already beaten this year. The Lady Hubs haven’t reached the regional semifinals since 2014, and the school hasn’t earned a regional championship since going back-to-back over the 1994 and 1995 seasons.

“I think our mindset should be to play our best and to know that we’ve beaten these teams before,” Mehrings said. “We know we can do it.”