After trading punches all match long, Dixon eventually threw the final jab to pick up a hard-fought win over Rock Falls.

The Duchesses rallied from three-point deficits five different times in the decisive third set to steal the momentum the Rockets had seized late in the first set and pull out a 25-22, 21-25, 25-22 win in a Big Northern Conference rivalry match at Lancaster Gym.

“Volleyball is all about energy, a game of runs, but definitely just trying to focus on all the little things was the key,” Dixon senior hitter Morgan Hargrave said. “We always talk about being simple, just doing the simple things – passing and putting the ball down – that’s all we wanted to do.

“Really, it was just focusing on that.”

Dixon (9-2, 1-0 BNC) led 19-9 in the opening set before Rock Falls (9-8, 0-2 BNC) found its groove. The Rockets scored 13 of the final 19 points in that set, with Kaltrina Lecaj stuffing a block and slamming two kills down the stretch before a service error ended it.

Addison Miller also keyed that comeback. She and Kayla Hackbarth each had a kill and a block in a Rocket surge in middle of the second set to take a 17-15 lead. Dixon tied it up on back-to-back kills by Leah Carlson, then Solis Thompson added a kill to answer a block by Rock Falls’ Jessa Adams to make it 21-21.

But an Ari Reyna block and kill helped force a third set.

“I feel like we really just pushed ourselves, got it together. Our passing really went up, and we felt good and got into rhythm,” Miller said. “I think our blocking was really good, and our hustle. We fought hard.”

The third set was a roller coaster.

Lecaj’s kill gave the Rockets a 7-4 lead, but a Rayven Mowery kill sparked a Dixon rally to an 8-7 lead. Taylor Segneri’s kill started a run that was capped by a Lyndin Mallard ace to make it 11-8 Rock Falls, but two kills by Hargrave and an ace from Micki Worrell tied it at 11.

Kills by Reyna and Lecaj made it 16-12 before another Dixon run. Thompson and Izzy Queckboerner each had kills, the Thompson served an ace before another Queckboerner kill made it 17-16 Duchesses.

“I feel like we just really thought, ‘All right, they’re doing really good, so we really need to step it up from here on out. We can’t make any mistakes, we need to get back at them,’ ” Mowery said. “I feel like we all just do very well communicating with each other on how to feel on the court. It’s contagious.

“If someone’s calm and collected, we’re all calm and collected. If someone’s angry and out of sorts, we’re all out of sorts. If someone’s excited, we’re all excited. We just feed off each other.”

Three straight Dixon errors and an Isela Valdivia ace put Rock Falls back in front 20-17, but the Duchesses had one last surge left in them. Presley Lappin went on a five-point service run that included two aces, and kills from Carlson and Mowery as Dixon closed it out.

“We knew we needed to take a deep breath and pretend it was starting over. We did not want to look at the score, just play our game. We really just kept pushing through all the way to the end,” Hargrave said. “I think when we go on our runs and we have our energy, it seems to calm us. ... It’s all about bringing our energy up and then harnessing it to get the next point and go on a run.”

Carlson had 12 kills, 15 assists, five digs and two blocks, and Hargrave added nine kills, eight digs and four assists for the Duchesses. Mowery spiked seven kills, Queckboerner had five kills, and Thompson finished with four kills, two blocks and seven points. Lappin dished 18 assists to go with five digs, Yui Santos chipped in eight digs, Abby Hicks had eight points and two kills, and Worrell served three aces among her team-high nine points.

Lecaj led the Rockets with nine digs and seven kills, Miller added five kills and a block, Hackbarth had four kills and three blocks, and Reyna finished with four kills and two blocks. Miley Bickett dished 14 assists before leaving with an ankle injury late in the second set. Breanna Dallgas-Frey had seven digs, seven points and five assists, Segneri served seven points to go with two kills and a block, Averie Payne finished with five digs, and Valdivia chipped in four digs.

“We definitely did well to push through and make it that close, and that’s kind of setting the tone for the rest of our season,” Miller said. “It will build some confidence that we’re going to be playing better.”