Volleyball: Rock Falls pulls away late in both sets to defeat Dixon at Tabor Gym

ROCK FALLS – A pair of scrappy teams squared off Thursday night at Tabor Gym, as the Rock Falls Rockets hosted the Dixon Duchesses in a Big Northern volleyball battle.

After two hard-fought back-and-forth sets the Rockets were able to pull away down the stretch twice to notch a 25-17, 25-21 victory.

[ Photos from Dixon vs. Rock Falls volleyball ]

“They’re very scrappy, but I feel like our communication is definitely what won us the match,” Rock Falls junior setter Denali Stonitsch said. “We got down early, but our communication picked up and it definitely got us the lead and helped us get through both sets.”

“I feel like we gave them a challenge,” Dixon senior setter Sydney Hargrave said. “Serving could’ve been better, but overall I think we played pretty hard and stuck with them. We just didn’t execute as we should have.”

Midway through the first set, Rock Falls (26-2, 7-1 BNC) took a four-point lead after three kills in a six-point span from Nicolette Udell. Dixon got back within two later in the set, but blocks by Emily Lego and Udell sparked a final surge.

“I think we’re all working together, doing way better with communicating, especially in the back row. We’re all starting to trust each other more, which allows our setting and hitting to keep clicking,” Rock Falls junior Zoe Henson said. “I think we did a good job on our serve receive. We all kind of worked together to get some good passes, which allowed our hitting to go off.”

Rock Falls carried the momentum into the second set, leading by as many as seven points before Dixon (20-10, 4-4 BNC) slowly chipped away. Kills by Ella Govig, Olivia Cox and Joey Brumbly cut the deficit to two, then Morgan Hargrave added a kill and the Duchesses were within one.

But two Bickett kills and a Cadence Williamson spike sparked another late Rock Falls surge to close it out.

“We kind of just turned the intensity on. We wanted to win the game, but I think the first set, we just didn’t come out as strong as we should have,” Sydney Hargrave said. “But the second game, we kind of just turned it on, and then toward the end, we just let it get away from us a little bit. But overall, I think we did a nice job.”

It was a balanced attack by the Rockets, as Udell (5 kills, 2 blocks), Bickett (5 kills, 7 digs, 2 aces), Lego (4 kills, 1 block), Williamson (4 kills) and Taylor Reyna (3 kills) all contributed to a strong net game, and Carli Kobbeman (13 digs), Henson and Sophia Moeller played well in the back row.

Stonitsch (18 assists, 6 points, 2 aces, 2 kills) credited the back-row players and their stellar passing for making things easier on her and the offense, giving her the ability to spread the wealth amongst her hitters.

“It was nice passing for us tonight. It’s so much easier, and it definitely helps me too, because then I don’t have to run all over. The set can be on the net to where our hitters can terminate the ball – and I can get some kills myself,” she said. “I definitely wanted to do that today, so that was fun.”

Morgan Hargrave said she thought the biggest difference between the two sets was Dixon making fewer mistakes and playing with a little more fire after losing the first set.

“I feel like we had to just pick it up, and we did in a couple of points. It was really just pushing through and trying to clean everything up,” she said. “We just had to have a lot of energy, and talking and communicating on the floor is a really big thing for us. I think energy is a big thing for us too, and we just didn’t have it tonight – but I thought we brought some back in the second set to keep pushing.”

Sydney Hargrave had 12 assists, five points, three aces and five digs for Dixon, while Brumbly had six kills and nine digs, Tichler added four kills, and Govig spiked three kills. Morgan Hargrave finished with seven digs, three kills and an ace, Hanna Lengquist dished six assists, and Natalie Davison chipped in 11 digs and an ace.

Udell and Joey Brumbly traded kills to start the first set, and an ace by Sophia Moeller made it 3-2 Rockets before another Brumbly kill and a Rock Falls error made it 4-3 Dixon. Bickett and Reyna had kills to give Rock Falls a 6-4 lead, then Bickett answered a Govig kill with another spike to make it 7-5.

The Duchesses got a sideout at 7-6, but a serve into the net sparked a mini-run for Rock Falls. Bickett served back-to-back aces, then Udell had a kill and Kobbeman served an ace before another Udell kill – this one on a softer hit – made it 13-9 Rockets.

Kills by Cox and Morgan Hargrave got the Duchesses within 15-13, then Madyson Tichler had two kills around a Bickett spike to make it 18-15. Brumbly’s kill cut it to 19-17, but then the blocks by Lego and Udell were followed by a Reyna kill and a Stonitsch ace to close it out.

“It is so exciting to have all those weapons, because now I know that whoever I choose to set will pound the ball, and it’s an amazing feeling,” Stonitsch said. “We know that we can terminate against the other team, no matter who’s in the front row, and it’s very exciting to play that way.”

Kills by Lego and Reyna and another Stonitsch ace early in the second set gave the Rockets a 5-2 lead, and they stretched it to 12-5 after two kills by Williamson and a Henson ace. But a tip-kill by Sydney Hargrave, an ace from Morgan Hargrave, and a kill by Brumbly got the Duchesses within 13-8, and Govig and Cox slammed kills before a Sydney Hargrave ace to cut the deficit to 14-11.

Brumbly had two kills and Morgan Hargrave spiked another before a Rock Falls error made it 16-15. A Bickett kill and another Rocket error made it 17-16, but a Dixon service error and kills by Williamson and Bickett got the lead back to 20-16.

After a timeout, Tichler spiked a kill, then Davidson served an ace to make it 21-19. Stonitsch had a kill on a second touch, then consecutive hitting errors by Dixon got Rock Falls to match point. A kill by Brumbly and an ace by Sydney Hargrave kept the match going, but Lego ended a long, exciting rally with one final kill to finish it off.

With the postseason looming in less than two weeks, both Hargraves agreed that a good match against a tough opponent is a great experience heading into regionals.

“They’re a very good team, and we just have to keep improving,” Sydney Hargrave said. “Watch film, practice our game plays, and just keep pushing through. We have to brush this one off and keep moving forward.”

“That was a really good game for us for our regional, playing a good team like that and pushing through,” Morgan Hargrave added. “We’re just trying to keep working really hard. We definitely need to keep communicating on blocks and touches and everything, but I think we’re getting there.”