Any outsiders who wandered into the Dixon High School gymnasium for Monday’s regional quarterfinal volleyball match between Rochelle and Stillman Valley would’ve likely thought the Lady Hubs and the Cardinals were battling for the championship.
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DIXON — Any outsiders who wandered into the Dixon High School gymnasium for Monday’s regional quarterfinal volleyball match between Rochelle and Stillman Valley would’ve likely thought the Lady Hubs and the Cardinals were battling for the championship.
Both teams put everything on the court over three exhilarating games, with No. 5 seed Rochelle winning the first game before No. 10 seed Stillman Valley rallied furiously to steal the second game and force a tiebreaker. But behind season-highs in kills from senior Emma Mehrings (21) and assists from sophomore Clare Green (38), the Lady Hubs finished strong in the third game to win the match 25-21, 24-26, 25-18 and advance to the semifinal round.
It’s Rochelle first victory at any regional level since 2012, and it will be the team’s first trip to the semifinals since the Lady Hubs earned a first-round bye in 2014. Rochelle improved to 15-20-1 overall with the win, and the Lady Hubs will play No. 4 seed Marengo in the semifinals on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
“We all had a lot of energy and we’re just having fun when we go out there,” Green said. “I could tell that all of our hitters wanted to kill the ball tonight and we were feeding off all of the energy they had… I feel like Marengo is going to play some good defense and they’re going to be hustling after every ball. I know we can match their energy.”
Rochelle began the first game on a 3-0 run with Green serving before the Cardinals fought back to tie the game at 12-12. Stillman Valley took the lead 15-14 and forced Rochelle to call timeout, and the Lady Hubs responded with a 7-3 run capped off by one of junior Maggie Duval’s six kills. Junior Katie Van Hise smashed one of her 12 kills to seal the first game.
The Lady Hubs emerged with an 18-12 lead in the second game, though the girls were unable to hold off Stillman Valley’s comeback effort. The Cardinals scored 14-of-20 points down the stretch to even up and eventually take the second game.
“Our passing was strong early and Emma had some fantastic swings,” head coach Molly Sly said. “Unfortunately, our passing started going away and we were only able to run our outsides. They were sitting on our outsides and they had some great blocks… There were a couple of points where we thought we had them but they kept getting the ball up again and again.”
The Lady Hubs led again late in the third game 15-12 before strong serves from senior Grace Orlikowski, who had a team-high five aces, helped Rochelle extend its advantage to 20-16 and force Stillman Valley to burn two timeouts. The match’s final point lasted over 35 seconds, with Van Hise breaking down the Cardinal block with a hard kill shot that fell to the floor.
Five players recorded double-digit digs for Rochelle including senior Sarah Craven who recorded a season-best 25 digs. Mehrings added 17 digs while Orlikowski (15), senior Emily Engelkes (14) and Green (10) were also in double figures.
