Girls net victories over Ashton-Franklin Center and Freeport

ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Lady Hub varsity volleyball team hosted the annual Lady Hub Invitational at RTHS on Saturday, finishing fourth place with a 2-3 record over five matches. Rochelle (9-5, 0-0 Interstate 8) will host a nonconference match against North Boone on Tuesday.

The Lady Hubs started the tournament on a high note, going 2-1 over three matches during the round-robin portion of the schedule. Rochelle defeated Ashton-Franklin Center 25-13, 25-19 before beating Freeport 25-11, 25-13. The Lady Hubs faced McHenry for the No. 1 seed in Pool B but fell short in a 11-25, 12-25 loss to enter the double-elimination bracket format as the No. 2 seed.

Rochelle bowed out of the tournament with a 12-25, 19-25 loss against Ottawa and a three-set loss against Earlville in the third-place match, falling 25-13, 23-25, 22-25 to end in fourth place. Junior Dempsey Atkinson led the Rochelle defense with 38 digs in the tournament, while junior Emma Kennay added 25 digs. Sophomores Jaydin Dickey and Meredith Bruns combined for 61 assists, with Dickey totaling 32 while Bruns followed with 29.

Junior Taelynn Rodeghero spearheaded the offensive charge with 47 kills, while senior Kennedy Adamski totaled 22 kills and junior Lauren Dyer had 20 kills. Atkinson had 10 aces, with senior Alivia Henkel recording seven aces.