The Beloit College volleyball team took down Rockford University in an exciting five setter to open the season Wednesday night on the road. The Buccaneers took the first two games 25-18 and 25-22 before the Regents evened the match with 18-25 and 21-25 set wins. Beloit came back to win the fifth set 15-13 for their first win of 2021. 

Beloit and Rockford registered the same number of kills in the match with the Bucs edging the Regents on offensive efficiency.

The Bucs jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first set and gradually built a 17-9 advantage. Rockford made a late run but the cushion held for the first set win. Set two was a back-and-forth affair at the start until Beloit tallied five of six points to take an 11-8 lead. RU responded with a five-point run later in the set to take a 17-15 advantage before a service error and Katrina Sanchez kill knotted the game 17-17. The Regents ran off the next four points but Beloit ended the set with an 8-1 spurt to take a 2-0 lead in the match. 

Rockford put together a few big runs in the third and fourth sets to force the decisive fifth set. 

The Bucs came out firing on all cylinders rattling off the first four points. After the teams traded points, Rockford got on a roll registering the next ten points to take an 11-5 lead. Beloit did not fold and worked their way back into the set capitalizing on Rockford errors while Sanchez, Regina Guehlstorf and Cora Linos led the Buc attack at the net. Pulling to within four, 13-9, Beloit ran off the next six for the exciting victory. 

Guehlstorf, Isabel Conchillo Martinez and Sanchez each tallied nine kills to lead the Bucs offensively. Abbie Schmidt dished out 21 assists and led Beloit at the service line with three aces while Jade Mosquera captained the Bucs in the back court with 23 digs. 

Up Next: The Bucs will head to Milwaukee to face Alverno Friday, September 3 at 6 p.m. Beloit will host their first pair of home matches Saturday at noon and 3 p.m. with Saint Mary's (IN) and Alverno visiting Flood Arena.