When playing its best, Rock Falls gets contributions from everyone.
That was the case Wednesday at Tabor Gym, as all 13 Rockets recorded a stat in a 25-16, 25-20 win over Oregon in the Big Northern Conference finale for both teams.
“We have a lot of trust in each other, so we work really well together. We really get that energy from each other and pick up each other and get that momentum to keep going,” senior Addison Miller said. “We all are very close, and we all just trust each other and enjoy when anybody makes a play.”
The victory was also the 20th on the season for Rock Falls (20-14, 6-3 BNC), and it was their fifth straight league win.
“It’s amazing. We have come so far throughout this season, just knowing that we can trust anybody on the court – and even off the court, with all of our parents helping,” senior Ari Reyna said. “The community around us is so good, and the postseason’s going to be fun.”
The Rockets host a Class 2A regional next week, and go into Thursday’s regular-season finale with five wins in their last six home matches.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/QJBQABGFWJEOPALNQJRF4GGUSQ.jpg)
Rock Falls took control of the first set with an 8-3 run highlighted by two kills each from Miller and Taylor Segneri and an ace by Averie Payne. Oregon got within 14-13 on a kill and block from Skylar Bishop and an ace by Ashlee Mundell, but the Rockets pulled away again thanks to kills by Reyna and Kayla Hackbarth, then a closing service run by Bre Dallgas-Frey that featured another Hackbarth kill and a Dallgas-Frey ace.
“We just had really good energy coming out, because it’s Senior Night and we just wanted to do it for us seniors,” Hackbarth said. “Getting a win on this night feels really good. We also want to go strong into the postseason, so just having that energy and hyping each other up is really good to see.”
Oregon (4-19, 3-6 BNC) led 5-2 to open the second set, and three straight aces by Ella Rowe put the Hawks up 11-8 and forced a Rocket timeout. Out of the break, Miller had a kill for a sideout, then Kaltrina Lecaj had five kills in a 12-point span, with Jessa Adams and Segneri adding kills and Miley Bickett serving an ace in that surge, for a 19-14 lead.
“It’s so big when we win that first set, because we just carry so much momentum going into the second set, and that’s a key for the game, especially for us,” Reyna said. “We strive to get that momentum going because that’s when we really shine.”
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/NFIUTZPUGJGIJAGSQ5TDQXGWBQ.jpg)
Oregon got no closer than four points the rest of the way, and Adams elicited loud cheers from her teammates when her kill ended the match after a long back-and-forth rally.
“I was really happy that Jessa got in and had the last kill; that was really nice,” Hackbarth said. “I think Cookie [Lecaj] did really good swinging, and we had really good swings and passes all around.”
“Our hitting was really good tonight, and we definitely powered through with that,” Miller added. “We definitely all contributed.”
Lecaj led the Rockets with seven kills to go with six digs and a block, and Segneri added six kills and three digs. Hackbarth, Reyna and Miller each finished with four kills, Bickett had 19 assists, seven digs and eight points, and Adams added a pair of kills. Isela Valdivia chipped in 16 digs, and Dallgas-Frey served for 11 points, including three aces.
Cassie Krup and Shaylee Davis each had three kills, with Krup adding three digs, and Bishop finished with two kills, a block and four service points for the Hawks. Addi Rufer led the back row with nine digs, Emma Eckerd added seven digs and five assists, and Lola Schwarz chipped in six digs and a kill.
“Our goal was to be competitive, focus on our side and keep the ball mixed around on offense, and I thought we did all those things. Ultimately, we just didn’t have enough of that to take over,” Oregon coach Farrell Cain said. “Effort, for sure, was the name of the game, and some control. I thought in that second set for sure, we were doing a really good job of that, we just couldn’t pull out a win.”
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/UTRR4DX7JVDQLBBH6FYY7FXWGE.jpg)