ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Lady Hub varsity volleyball team won three of its five matches enroute to a third-place finish during the annual Lady Hub Invitational at RTHS on Saturday. Rochelle (6-3, 0-0 Interstate 8) will return to the court on Tuesday evening, when the Lady Hubs are scheduled to take on the North Boone Vikings in a nonconference matchup on the road.

The Lady Hubs opened the tournament on a positive note, outlasting Rockford Lutheran for a three-set victory in the first of their three pool-play matches. Rochelle defeated the Crusaders 25-14, 18-25, 15-10 behind nine kills from senior Taelynn Rodeghero and 19 digs from senior Dempsey Atkinson. Senior Alison Ohlinger dished out 17 assists with eight digs and seven kills, while junior Meredith Bruns stepped up with 11 assists, seven kills and five digs in the win.

“We communicated well and we were setting our outsides and middles,” Bruns said. “Our outsides were on fire and our middles got involved too. I have a really cool opportunity because I’m able to do a lot of different things right now. As a one setter and a right side, I know I need to stay calm while I’m hitting and figure out who I should or shouldn’t be setting. I’m hoping to bring confidence to the team and we’re hoping to win both conference and regionals this year. ”

Rochelle continued the pool-play round with a dominant showing against Lisle. The Lady Hubs took down the Lions 25-18, 25-11 with Rodeghero notching 12 kills and Atkinson serving four aces while adding 15 digs from the back row. Ohlinger commanded the offense with 20 assists and junior Audyn Kemp finished with three kills from the middle to aid the front-row attack.

“We’re starting the season strong, but we’re still tweaking the little things and a lot of us are pushing each other as hard as we can,” Kemp said. “I’m trying to fill a big block and get my hits down and in. Last year, I learned that playing varsity is faster than any other level and it’s more challenging. I’m hoping to bring more good blocks and become a strong hitter for the team.”

The Lady Hubs concluded the pool-play round against McHenry, falling just short in a 20-25, 22-25 loss. Ohlinger recorded her first double-double of the tournament against the Warriors, finishing with 19 assists and 10 digs. Atkinson led the back row with 12 digs, while Rodeghero posted 10 kills from the outside and junior Kyrie Cragin notched four kills from the middle.

Rochelle finished second in its pool to move into the championship bracket, where the Lady Hubs opened with a tough three-set loss against the Ottawa Pirates. Rochelle conceded a 25-19, 20-25, 13-25 defeat to move into the third-place match against Earlville. Ohlinger and Atkinson combined for 23 digs and 12 aces, while Rodeghero earned 12 kills in the loss.

The Lady Hubs battled back from two consecutive losses to finish the tournament on a high note, winning 26-24, 25-11 over Earlville to end the day in third place. With Ohlinger nursing a knee injury, Bruns emerged at the setter position, sending out 23 assists while adding five digs. Rodeghero led the Rochelle offense with 10 kills and Atkinson notched 10 digs on defense. Junior Jaydin Dickey totaled five kills and sophomore Briel Metzger added six kills in the win.

“We had a lot of energy during our first match,” Dickey said. “We were communicating a lot and winning our first two matches put us in a better mindset for the next matches. We’ve made some changes and we’re playing some different positions, but we’ve worked hard through those changes and we’ve come together as a team.”