Richmond suffers some defeats at weekend invite

By Todd Rohde~CORRESPONDENT

The Richmond-Burton volleyball team had kind of tough go over the weekend, as they participated in a competitive tournament Oct. 13th. After going 25 straight matches and over a month and a half without suffering a defeat, the Lady Rockets have lost four times in just over a week’s time.

Not to take anything away from what the Rockets have been able to accomplish this year and what their outstanding capabilities are, but the team has just run into some tough programs who have been able to give them a run for their money. Despite putting worth a valiant effort, the Rockets finished 2-3 overall at the six-team Crystal Lake Central Invite.

The Rockets, who are now 29-4 overall for the season, finished fourth overall at the busy all-day event. Rockford Boylan took home the top honors at the event by posting an unblemished 5-0 record, while the host Tigers were second at 4-1 and Marian Central third with 3-2.

Richmond won their second and fourth matches on the day, as they knocked off McHenry 25-16 and 25-11 and then got the best of Sycamore in games of 25-13 and 25-15. Each of their losses came to the teams that finished ahead of them in falling 25-18, 20-25 and 20-25 to Rockford, 24-26 and 18-25 to Marian and 23-25, 28-26 and 23-25 to CLC.

Each of the Rockets’ losses proved to be tough and disappointing, as they were tight matches that came down to the wire and just as easily could have gone either way. Richmond fought hard in each of the matches until the bitter end, just to come up a little short.

Against Rockford, the Rockets jumped out to a 1-0 advantage in the match by winning the first game and looked as if they had the momentum on their side. But Boylan refused to give in, as they fought back to take the next two sets and steal the victory.

In the Rockets’ showdown with the Hurricanes, they went back and forth in the first game changing leads several times only to have Marian pull away at game point for the win. Then in the second game, a couple of unforced errors cost the Rockets as the Hurricanes took advantage of the opportunities that they were given.

Finally in probably the best and most exciting match of the tournament, the Rockets and the Tigers matched up very well against one another and left it all out on the court. Competitive play allowed CLC to take the first game by two points, only to see the Rockets rebound and return the favor in the second game to pull even. Then in the decisive third game, the Rockets held the lead late, but the Tigers came on strong at the end to finish things off.

Ali Frantti had a big day for the Rockets, as she finished with a hefty 73 kills to go along with 34 digs, 12 aces and six blocks. Kim Russell was also solid for Richmond, as she came away with 55 kills, 17 digs and three of both blocks and aces.

Rounding things out for the Rockets, Alex Callahan produced 29 kills, 42 digs, three aces and a pair of blocks as teammate Kara Russell contributed 145 assists, eight blocks and four aces.

 

Rockets get past B-C

Just two days prior to the tournament, the Rockets traveled to Burlington Central and handed the hosts a 25-19 and 28-25 Big Northern Conference loss Oct. 11th. The victory keeps the Rockets league record perfect at 8-0 and gives them a great short at securing yet another conference title.

Frantti led the way with 12 kills, five digs and two aces, as Kim Russell finished with 10 kills and three of both blocks and aces. Callahan was responsible for 10 digs and two blocks and kills, Kara Russell dished of 25 assists and had three blocks and Marissa Woodword secured 10 digs.

 


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