OREGON – With basically a whole new lineup this season, Oregon girls volleyball coach Farrell Cain know there were going to be some growing pains.

The inexperience showed at times Tuesday night in a nonconference match against Rochelle at the Blackhawk Center, as the Hawks saw big leads disappear in each of the first two sets before the Hubs pulled away to win the third for a 25-22, 23-25, 25-13 victory.

[ Photos from Oregon vs. Rochelle volleyball ]

Oregon (1-2) led 18-9 in the first set and 18-11 in the second set before Rochelle (6-2) rallied in both. The Hubs scored 16 of the final 20 points to take the first set, then tied the second set 21-21 and 23-23 before Kenna Wubbena slammed back-to-back kills to finish that one off and help the Hawks force a third set.

“We struggle with the highs and lows, and we just had too many dips where we went down tonight that we couldn’t recover from,” Cain said. “Looking forward, we just have to focus on stability, because when we were consistent, that’s when we were pulling ahead and taking the lead. Then, our serve receive struggled a bit, and that threw our hitters off, and we struggled to get the momentum. We just couldn’t recover.”

Wubbena had a back-to-back aces between a pair of kills – the second from the back row – to help Oregon grab the lead early. Fellow senior Rylie Robertson then stepped to the service line and served five aces in a six-point span, with sophomore Skylar Bishop ripping a kill from the middle for the other point as the Hawks led 18-9.

But Rochelle junior setter Ali Ohlinger answered Robertson’s run with six straight points, including three aces, and a bock and a kill by Alivia Henkel got the Hubs within 18-16 and turned the momentum in their favor.

“I knew that we were down, and I went back to the line and my mentality was, ‘I know I have to serve hard to continue the game,’ and I felt like we then got in a rhythm and we started passing really well and we were able to run some offense,” Ohlinger said. “I felt like that sparked some energy, and even our bench was getting excited for us, and I think that helped a lot.”

Junior Taelynn Rodeghero tipped a kill and served an ace, then a kill by Lauren Dyer and consecutive aces by Sydney Carmichael helped the Hubs pull away.

The second set saw Oregon again grab the lead, but Rodeghero had a kill to spark another Rochelle rally from a 16-9 deficit. Two straight aces by Henkel got the Hubs within 20-19, then Rodeghero had a block and a kill before Dempsey Atkinson’s ace to tie the set 23-23.

Wubbena finished that one off for the Hawks with two of her match-high 13 kills, but Rochelle was too much in the finale.

A back-row kill by Rodeghero made it 6-3, then a kill and two aces by Henkel around a combo block by Ohlinger and Kennedy Adamski made it 13-6 Hubs. Ohlinger smacked a kill, Adamski stuffed another block, then Ohlinger had a block and Atkinson served an ace before Ohlinger dumped a second-touch kill in the middle of the Oregon defense for an 18-8 lead. Ohlinger then had a pair of kills later on to close out the match.

“The second set, I think we were just off a little bit with our passing and serving, and that’s why we weren’t able to take it home,” Ohlinger said. “The third set, we played way better from the start. We were able to pass, run offense, and then serve really well too, get them out of system.”

Rodeghero led Rochelle with 20 kills and added six digs, while Ohlinger stuffed the stat sheet with 15 assists, 10 digs, four kills, two aces and two blocks. Henkel had nine digs, four kills and four aces, Kemp and Adamski each spiked three kills, Atkinson led the defense with 15 digs, and Carmichael served three aces.

“We came out a little soft tonight, and Oregon brought it to us early on. In the third set, our passing woke up and we were able to run our middles,” Rochelle coach Molly Sly said. “Kennedy Adamski and Audyn Kemp really came through big in the last set. Alivia Henkel had more opportunities this game than what she had coming in, and she mixed up her shots and really kept them on their toes. She also served great at the service line.”

Wubbena had 10 digs and two aces to go with her 13 kills for Oregon, and Bishop chipped in five kills and two blocks. Lexi Ebert dished 13 assists, Anna Stender added seven more, and Robertson finished with eight digs and six aces. Madison Shaffer chipped in nine digs and two aces for the Hawks.

“This is such a fresh team; we have four returners and six new players, and only two of our returners were starters last year, so it’s almost a whole new lineup,” Cain said. “We’re still meshing, and I told them I’d rather expose the holes now and prepare for conference and regionals.”