Caitlin Rahn, Genoa-Kingston serve up sectional semi win over Rockford Christian

WINNEBAGO — After rolling in Game 1, the Genoa-Kingston volleyball team was trailing in Game 2 and only up one early when Kaitlin Rahn stepped to the line.

By the time she was done, the lead was up to eight and the Cogs were on their way to a 25-14, 25-12 win against Rockford Christian in a Class 2A Winnebago Sectional semifinal on Monday.

“I was definitely nervous. You want to take a lead, get a quick jump on things,” Rahn said. “Trying to claw your way out of a hole can be difficult so hitting those serves were very important to me.”

The Royal Lions (23-11-1) took a 5-2 lead in the second game. The Cogs (34-4) rallied off five straight for a lead, but a rare serve error brought the lead back down to one.

But Rahn had two of her three aces on the day during the seven-point run, Genoa-Kingston went up 14-6, and the lead never dipped below seven again.

“I think our energy and our serving definitely helped us,” said Rahn, referring to a 25-11, 25-23 win over their Big Northern Conference foes in the regular season. “Last time we played Rockford Christian, we did not serve very well and it definitely showed in the scores. Today we had a lot of talented people go on a lot of runs.”

Kailey Kline and Mia Wise had three aces as well, with Hannah Langton adding two.

“We just stayed solid,” G-K coach Keith Foster said. “Our foundation is our serve and our serve receive. That’s how we got to where we are today and we just continued that. We all had such long four, five, six-point runs. It’s hard to come back from that.”

The Cogs jumped out to an 11-1 lead in the first game, with the Royal Lions never getting closer than seven.

With the serve game on point, the net numbers were less gaudy than usual for the Cogs. Alayna Pierce and Alivia Keegan had four kills each.

“We all know we can do it, but the days that we don’t is frustrating,” Rahn said of the serving game. “But seeing this is a reminder we can all get it done. We’re all capable of long runs. I’m pretty sure every server had a lot of points today, and that just reinstills our confidence going into a big match.”

The Cogs will face Rock Falls in the sectional final at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“We understand it’s going to be a battle,” Foster said. “This is the postseason and we feel after the strength of schedule we’ve earned this season. I know Rock Falls is ready to go, they always are. It’s going to be an absolute battle and we can’t wait for it.”

The Rockets will get a rematch with Genoa-Kingston on Wednesday for the sectional crown. The Cogs were 25-21, 25-18 winners against their Big Northern Conference foes during the regular season.

“I would love to see them again. I don’t want to shy away from them,” Rock Falls coach Sheila Pillars said after he team’s win over Johnsburg in the first semifinal. “They are an excellent program, very well coached. They set the standard for volleyball in our area. I told our team you can’t be the best without beating the best. I would love a rematch. We didn’t play the best the first time out, we didn’t pass the ball real well, but the sets were still fairly close. So I’m hoping we come out having a good, clean game Wednesday. It’s going to be a duel to the end.”