LOCAL ROUNDUP: Rock Falls, Oregon move into BNC semifinals

The Rock Falls volleyball team advanced to the semifinals of the Big Northern Conference Tournament, winning its quarterfinal, 25-16, 31-29, over Byron on Monday at Tabor Gym.

Claire Bickett had nine kills and 14 digs, and Mallory Pinske added eight kills and two stuff blocks for the Rockets. Nicolette Udell had five kills, and Denali Stonitsch dished 22 assists. Carli Kobbeman had 12 digs, Cara Goff added 11 digs, and Sophia Moeller chipped in seven digs in the win.

The top-seeded Rockets will host fifth-seeded Mendota on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Dixon splits in Rockford: The seventh-seeded Duchesses defeated Rockford Christian, 21-25, 26-24, 25-18, in their first-round match, then fell to No. 2 seed Rockford Lutheran, 25-14, 25-18, in the BNC Tournament quarterfinals at Lutheran H.S.

Mallory Coley had 12 kills, four blocks and four digs against Rockford Christian, while Addyson Kinn added 10 assists, five kills and three aces. Sam Tourtillott finished with four kills and seven digs, and Elena Castillo-Wetzell chipped in eight digs and two aces.

Tourtillott had seven kills and four digs against Rockford Lutheran, and Kinn dished seven assists.

Dixon will visit No. 6 seed Winnebago at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Oregon def. Winnebago 12-25, 25-22, 25-17: The Hawks rallied to win their BNC quarterfinal.

Jenae Bothe had 12 kills for Oregon as well as three blocks and an ace. Brenna Noon had nine kills and a block. Ella Martin had 26 assists, two kills, three aces and five digs. Olivia Ankney had 13 digs. Natalie Roesslein had five digs and three aces.

Amboy def. West Carroll 17-25, 25-23, 25-20: The Thunder took the first set in this NUIC crossover, but the Clippers were able to pull out wins in the next two.

Mallory Powers had 10 kills and 13 digs for Amboy. Olivia Dinges had five kills, an ace and three blocks. Gabby Jones had 20 assists and an ace. Eden Lindenmeyer had 16 digs. Madelyn McLaughlin had 12 digs. Elly Jones had an ace. Brianna Blaine had two blocks.

Milledgeville def. Warren 25-19, 25-17: The Missiles picked up a sweep in the NUIC.

Adriana Miller had five kills and 11 digs. Alyssa Mertz and Grace Jakobs each had nine assists. Carissa Hubbard had 12 digs.

Eastland def. Durand 25-21, 25-22: The Cougars came away with a sweep.

Addison Burkholder had 12 digs for Eastland. Natalie Hughes had 19 assists and two blocks. Karlie Krogman had seven kills. Burkholder and Talena Rogers each served an ace.

Polo def. Orangeville 25-16, 24-26, 25-14: The Marcos came away with a home win.

Nicole Boelens had 13 kills, two blocks, seven assists and nine digs for Polo. Harper Clark had three aces, a kill, two assists and 10 digs. Natalie Nelson had two aces, a kill, 15 assists and four digs. Emileigh Williams had five kills and a block. Abby Gorzny had two aces and four kills.

SOFTBALL

Newman 13, Bureau Valley 5: Adalyn Waldschmidt had five hits, including a pair of doubles, to lead the Comets to a Three Rivers Conference victory in their season opener in Manlius.

Madison Duhon, Carlin Brady and Jessalin Johns all had two hits, with Brady ripping a homer and a double. Jordan Morthland picked up the win in the circle.

Kaleen Carlson went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Storm. Lilly Allicks was 2-for-2 with a double, a run and an RBI.

BASEBALL

Bureau Valley 6, Newman 3: The Storm scored five runs in the bottom of the first and held off the Comets in the season opener for both.

Bryson Smith and Logan Johnson each doubled and drove in a pair of runs for Bureau Valley. Sam Rouse pitched three innings and struck out six, allowing two runs on three hits and four walks.

Grant Koerner and Blake Wolfe each drove in runs for the Comets.

Warren-Stockton 13, Milledgeville 4: The Missiles lost their opener at home.

Warren-Stockton scored a run in the top of the first, then broke things open with a nine-run second. Milledgeville scored three in the third and added a run in the fourth.

Chase Sarber went 2 for 4 at the plate and drove in a pair of runs for the Missiles. Nick Smith struck out three in 4 1/3 innings on the mound.

SATURDAY’S EVENTS

BOYS SOCCER

United Township 3, Sterling 1: The Golden Warriors closed out their season on Saturday with a loss to UT at Roscoe Eades Stadium.

Fabricio Pena scored the Warriors’ goal.

VOLLEYBALL

Sterling def. Geneseo 25-17, 25-22: The Golden Warriors took over first place in the Western Big 6 with a sweep of the Leafs.

Brooklyn Borum had 16 kills. Grace Egan added 12.

Rock Falls def. Amboy 29-27, 25-13: The Rockets had to eke out a win in the first set, but had things under control in the second set to beat the Clippers.

Claire Bickett had 11 kills, and Mallory Pinske spiked eight kills for Rock Falls. Denali Stonitsch dished 31 assists, and Cara Goff added 12 digs.

Mallory Powers had 10 kills to go with six digs for Amboy. Olivia Dinges had three kills. Brianna Blaine had three kills. Elly Jones served an ace. Gabby Jones had 16 assists. Madelyn McLaughlin had 11 digs, and Eden Lindenmeyer added seven.

Oregon def. AFC 25-12, 25-11: The Hawks picked up a win in two sets over the Raiders at the Blackhawk Center.

Ella Martin had 13 assists, eight digs, three kills and two aces for the Hawks. Jenae Bothe added eight kills, and Lyndi Kenney had five aces and three digs.

Brittney Mundell had five digs, a kill and a block for AFC. Madison Runkle had three kills. Jessica Milligan had four assists, three digs and a kill.

Milledgeville def. West Carroll 25-15, 26-24: The Missiles picked up a win over the Thunder.

Rylee Matthews served three aces for Milledgeville. Lydia Faulkner had nine kills. Adriana Miller had four kills and nine digs. Alyssa Mertz had five kills, 11 assists and five digs. Grace Jakobs had six assists. Carissa Hubbard had six digs.

Eastland def. Pearl City 26-24, 25-11: The Cougars improved to 15-2 overall and 6-0 in the NUIC with a win over the Wolves.

Karlie Krogman had nine kills, a block and two aces for Eastland. Quinc Haverland had a block. Natalie Hughes had two aces and 26 assists. Addison Burkholder had 14 digs.

BASEBALL

Sterling 8, Erie-Prophetstown 4: The Golden Warriors won their season opener by breaking a 4-4 tie with a run in the bottom of the fourth, then adding three insurance runs in the fifth.

Ryan Heffelfinger and Garrett Polson each had two RBIs for Sterling. Colt Adams went 2-for-2 at the plate.

Three Sterling pitchers limited the Panthers to one hit. Blake Nettleton started and worked two innings, allowing four runs – two of them earned – on no hits and striking out three. Polson struck out six in his four innings on the mound and gave up E-P’s lone hit. Noel Aponte struck out two in his scoreless inning of work.

Erik Daubman and Simon Weidel both drove in runs for the Panthers.

Jaime Miner allowed four runs, none of them earned, in one inning on the mound for Erie-Prophetstown. Austin Cole struck out five in two innings in relief. Dawson Haggard pitched three innings and struck out four.

MEN’S COLLEGE TENNIS

Sauk Valley 5, McHenry 4: The Sauk men’s tennis team is off to a 6-2 start to the season after a close win at McHenry.

The Skyhawks’ Daniel Ferguson took his No. 2 singles match in a third-set tiebreaker, 6-2, 6-7, 11-9. Jonathan Rhodes picked up a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 5 singles. Imanol Aburto won, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), at No. 6 singles. No. 1 singles player Preston Engel won, 6-2, 6-4.

In doubles play, Rhodes and Aburto won, 6-2, 6-4. Engel and Ferguson nearly pulled out a win at No. 1 doubles, but fell to Johnny Wallace and Jack Adams, 3-6, 6-4, 10-8.

NBA

Roby out with toe injury: Dixon native Isaiah Roby did not play in Oklahoma City’s 119-107 loss to the Wizards on Monday in Washington D.C., out with a toe injury.

Roby came off the bench in Sunday’s 112-106 loss to the Raptors, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot on 21 minutes. He shot 4-for-6 from the field, made his only 3-pointer, and hit both of his free throws.

The Thunder (20-38) play again Wednesday at the Pacers at 6 p.m.