ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Lady Hub varsity volleyball team found itself locked into a three-set thriller against the Stillman Valley Cardinals on Wednesday evening. But the combined efforts from Rochelle’s front-row hitters and back-row defenders enabled the Lady Hubs to emerge with a 25-21, 22-25, 25-21 win and secure their second straight nonconference win.

Senior Dempsey Atkinson totaled a season-high 20 digs, while seniors Taelynn Rodeghero and Ali Ohlinger combined for 20 kills to spearhead the charge on the front line. Perhaps the biggest difference maker offensively, however, was Rochelle’s success from the middle, where junior Audyn Kemp delivered a season-high nine kills on 14 attempts without recording an error. Head coach Molly Sly said that Kemp, a first-year starter, has already made big strides this season.

“Audyn was finding those corners and she was getting great touches on blocks,” Sly said. “Audyn has been working hard to be quick off of the net and be quick back to her setter. She did both of those things tonight and she reaped the benefit with those nine kills… Our front row came alive tonight and the serve receive from our back row set them up with great first balls.”

Rochelle (3-1, 0-0 Interstate 8) pulled away from Stillman Valley late in the first set, where an ace from Rodeghero forced a timeout from the Cardinals with the Lady Hubs ahead 18-16. A block on the outside clinched the set for the Lady Hubs, who fell behind early in the second set due to a series of service errors as well as tough defense from the Cardinals, who slowed down Rochelle’s outside offense and funneled most of the action toward the middle and right side. 

Stillman Valley capitalized on its newfound momentum, building a 19-13 lead after a brief rally fueled by freshman Aleigha Hodge, who forced multiple receiving errors with her serve. Junior Meredith Bruns posted a key block late in the second set to quell the Stillman Valley offense, but a kill shot that deflected off the Rochelle block and out of play sealed the set for the Cardinals.

Refocused after the second intermission, Rochelle controlled the early portion of the third set, where Ohlinger sparked a 5-1 run from the service line. The senior setter compiled three aces along with 18 assists, eight kills and five digs for the Lady Hubs, who saw their lead briefly slip away before posting a 9-1 run with Rodeghero on the serve and Ohlinger on the outside.

“We did the small things better tonight,” Sly said. “We kept our eyes on the ball and we never gave up. Whenever we got a tiny touch on the ball, someone else bettered that touch every chance they could. That’s the difference between winning a tight match and losing one.”

Rodeghero finished with 12 kills, five digs and two aces for the Lady Hubs, who tweaked their rotation to allow for both Rodeghero and Ohlinger to swing from the outside. The change also saw the two seniors take more reps in the back row, which improved Rochelle’s serve receive.

“We relied on Taelynn in the front row for three rotations and then we relied on her in the back row,” Sly said. “We want to take some of the pressure off of her and Ali has a beautiful swing. She’s tall and she jumps well. It seemed like a shame not to see her swing and watch her play.”

Stillman Valley worked its way back from a 17-10 deficit, coming within four points of the Lady Hubs before an outside kill shot from Ohlinger ended the match. The final assist of the match came from Bruns, who has seen her role increase with Rochelle’s new rotation. A first-year varsity starter, Bruns earned her first career double-double, totaling 15 assists and 10 digs. 

“I saw Meredith run a much quicker offense tonight,” Sly said. “She really mixed up her sets and she didn’t rely on one hitter. The key for being a good setter is to be in charge and run the floor. I thought she and Ali both did a good job of that tonight.”