Volleyball: Rock Falls fights, but can’t fend off IVC at Tabor

ROCK FALLS – After making mistakes throughout the first set Monday night, the Rock Falls volleyball team played much cleaner in the second set, but Illinois Valley Central was able to fight back and pull out a 25-18, 28-26 victory at Tabor Gym.

IVC senior Kenna Wollard, a Purdue commit, came up big down the stretch for the Grey Ghosts, spiking five kills and serving an ace over IVC’s last 12 points to fuel the comeback.

[ Photos from Rock Falls vs. IVC volleyball ]

“After that first set, we knew we were going to have to battle, because that’s not usually how they play and they were going to come after us and go hot,” said Wollard, who finished with 15 kills. “I just think we had to keep our composure, keep fighting. We were down a little bit in the beginning, but we had to continue to grind and just find ways to get swings and play our best defense against them.”

Rock Falls’ defense was on point, too, and it was just what Rock Falls coach Sheila Pillars loves to see. Libero Carli Kobbeman and her back-row mates were diving, sliding and sprinting all over the court, and made a habit out of making Wollard and the Grey Ghost hitters work for everything they got.

“It was really a team effort. If I didn’t have that heads-up where I knew [Wollard] was coming cross every time, and if the block wasn’t set up right, it would’ve been tough. It was all about being in the right place at the right time, really,” Kobbeman said. “Reaction is part of it, but we all worked together, and we had some really good passes. We knew defense would be big.”

IVC (6-0-1) took control early in the first set, grabbing an 11-4 lead thanks to several Rocket errors. After that, Wollard and teammate Sage Geltmaker traded kills with Rock Falls’ Claire Bickett, Emily Lego and Nicolette Udell for the rest of the set to maintain the Grey Ghosts’ margin.

The second set saw the Rockets (2-1) grab the momentum with a four-point run to break a 7-7 tie. Lego had kills for back-to-back Rock Falls points, then Bickett spiked a kill and tipped another to give Rock Falls a 14-8 lead.

“Really, I feel like we did pretty much the same through both sets,” Kobbeman said. “I know we dug ourselves in a hole [in the first set] and we were able to come back to 18, so it was really about starting off strong and keeping that rhythm the whole game. The passing definitely played a big part in that.”

IVC chipped away, but kills by Udell and Bickett made it 18-13 Rockets. Consecutive kills from Geltmaker and a back-row spike by Wollard cut the IVC deficit to 19-17. A Lego kill pushed the Rock Falls margin to 21-19, but a Wollard kill and a Rock Falls error tied the score 21-21.

Cadence Williamson stuffed a block and Bickett put away an overpass to put Rock Falls at set point, 24-22, but a Wollard kill and ace around a Rocket error gave IVC match point at 25-24. Denali Stonitsch had a block, and a Grey Ghosts error made it 26-25 Rock Falls.

But IVC got a sideout on a Lizzy Short kill, then a Rock Falls hit went out of bounds before a final back-row kill from Wollard skimmed off the net and found an open spot for the final point.

“We ended that first set more aggressive, and I told them that’s how we had to come back out in the second set. But it’s the little mistakes that kill us, the missed serves or the miscommunication, and that gave them the momentum right back to be able to keep closing that gap,” Pillars said. “I just think that’s something we’re going to have to overcome as a team, the mental part of the game. I think the physical part’s there, we just have to really know that when we step on the court that we’re going to win. It’s just a change of dynamics, and they have to believe.”

Bickett finished with 10 kills and seven digs, while Lego had seven kills and a block, and Udell had five kills and seven digs. Stonitsch finished with 20 assists and six digs, and Kobbeman led the back row with 11 digs.

“My back row was awesome, that’s 100% what I like to see; I love it when all three of them back there work hard and work together,” Pillars said. “Carli was phenomenal. I told her before the game. ‘Get whatever you can get your hands on. No. 14′s coming right for you, she never goes down the line,’ and she didn’t. I thought my blockers did a good job of channeling it to Carli, they got touches on [Wollard] and I thought they really slowed her down. She’s a phenomenal player, but we knew that’s what they were going to do, so we just tried to slow her down.

“There’s a ton of positives to take out of this, and I’m just super proud of our effort. We could’ve buried our heads and laid down and died that second set, and we didn’t. I just wish we would’ve held onto that lead and at least forced a third set, but I thought they had to earn the second set, which was better than the first, so that’s a positive too. We’ve just got to clean up the little stuff and we’ll be all right.”

Geltmaker added five kills to Wollard’s 15, and also had 12 digs; Wollard chipped in eight digs. Ali Bainter dished 20 assists for the Grey Ghosts.

“We got down by five twice [in the second set], then came back and closed it to two or three, then got down by four. We finally got it back tied, and I just thought the kids kept their composure,” IVC coach Troy Webb said. “I didn’t see anybody who was out of whack out there, it looked like everybody was zoned in and focused and ready to take whatever came. We got some crucial kills from different players at important times, and I thought we did a nice job digging balls that we could get to in the back row and getting swings out of that.”