Red Hot! Lady Rockets crowned tourney champions

By Todd Rohde~CORRESPONDENT

To say that the Richmond-Burton girls’ volleyball team is playing at the top of their games right now and gelling as a program might be a little bit of an understatement. But to mention that the Lady Rockets are red hot and on fire of late, might be a little more realistic.

Despite having a target on their backs as being the team that every opponent wants to defeat, so far no team has been able to come up with the right answer or solution to accomplish just that. So needless to say, the Lady Rockets just continue to roll along and take care of business one game and match at a time as they still have yet to have a mark in the “L” column this year.

It proved to be another outstanding weekend for the Rockets, as they made sure that their journey to Hampshire was worth the while. They did so by coming home as the champions of the 10-team tournament.

The Rockets finished the competitive and busy one-day event Sept. 29th in style by not only going a perfect 5-0 in matches played on the day, but also finishing an unblemished 10-0 in overall games at the Hampshire Tournament. In doing so, Richmond pushed their overall record on the season to an impressive 20-0.

The Rockets got the day started by bettering Grayslake North by a 25-13 and 25-10 difference in the opening round of play, before making pretty easy work of Winnebago 25-8 and 25-11 in the second round. This put the Rockets in the quarterfinals, where they knocked off Rockford Auburn in a pair of 25-9 games.

Then with the momentum on their side and control of the matches’ tempo, Richmond had to work a little harder in the semifinal bout. That’s where the Rockets were faced up against a scrappy and determined Jacobs squad, where they had to fight hard for everything that they got in posting a 25-22 and 25-16 win over the Golden Eagles.

With the smell of victory in the air and the tournament title on the line, the Rockets weren’t about to give in now without a fierce fight in the championship showdown.

Again it was a challenging match, but in the end the Rockets had just too much firepower as they came away with the 25-19 and 25-14 win to seal the event in their favor.

Leading the charge for the Rockets was junior outside hitter Ali Frantti finishing the day with 49 kills, 10 digs, five aces and four blocks. Senior setter Kara Russell contributed 94 assists, 15 digs, five solo blocks and three aces.

Kara’s sister Kim Russell, a senior right-side hitter, added 32 kills, 11 digs, four blocks and a pair of aces. Rounding things out was senior outside hitter Alex Callahan with 36 digs, 18 kills and five aces.

 

Rockets sweep the Royals

Earlier in the week, the Rockets weren’t as impressive as usual, but still were still successful against a different opponent. This time the Rockets (5-0 in league play) bettered Rockford Christian 25-10 and 25-19 in Big Northern Conference action Sept. 26 at Richmond.

The Rockets main concerns came from their inconsistency in giving up the serve more than normal and having some unforced miscues.

Although the Rockets may have bent a little bit to keep the Royals in the match, they were determined not break as they regained their composure when it counted.

The Rockets were sparked by Frantti with 10 kills, Kara Russell with seven kills and three blocks and Kim Russell setting them up with sets.

 

 

 

 

 


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