ROCHELLE — Head coach Molly Sly was pleased with how the Rochelle varsity volleyball team responded after starting slow at the Lady Hub Invitational on Saturday.

Rochelle took on Roanoke-Benson to begin pool play, going three sets before falling 25-21, 21-25, 12-25. The Lady Hubs bounced back with a victory against Lisle (25-9, 25-17) before earning a draw against Rockford Lutheran in the championship semifinals.

“We started off a little slow in the morning,” Sly said. “But I was impressed with our third game against Rockford Lutheran. The girls had seen them play before, and I think they saw they had tough serves, they were scrappy and they hit the ball well. The girls really wanted that win, and even though they didn’t win, I thought they rose to the challenge.”

Rochelle lost a tough three-set match with Rockford Lutheran (17-25, 25-20, 15-17) who entered the tournament unbeaten on the season. The Lady Hubs earned a rematch with Roanoke-Benson for third place in the tournament, winning in two sets (25-18, 25-23) to claim third place and improve their record to 6-6-1 overall.

“Our middles [Abby Tilton and Allison Seebach] really came to play this weekend,” Sly said. “Clare [Green] got them going with some good sets and they were putting the ball away. Our passing was crucial as it always is, and it was great to see that. We didn’t miss as many serves as we have been, and hopefully we’ll continue to do that.”

Rochelle will host Genoa-Kingston on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before taking on Earlville at RTHS on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Lady Hubs play their first Northern Illinois Big 12 match at Ottawa on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. and Sly is confident Rochelle can be more competitive in the NIB-12 this season.

“I think there are a couple of teams that we can hopefully get a few wins against,” Sly said. “If we can squeak a couple of wins out against the top teams in our conference, we’ll hopefully see our regional seed go up.”