Eureka Drills Rockford For First 2018 Victory

Eureka Drills Rockford For First 2018 Victory

BELOIT, Wis. – Seniors Lexi Dooley (Sutter, Ill./Warsaw H.S.) and Heather Robinson (Peoria, Ill./Limestone H.S.) put down 12 kills apiece, Katlyn Arrenholz (Delavan, Ill./Delavan H.S.) established a new career high with 27 assists and McKenna Cleer (Havana, Ill./Havana H.S.) anchored the back line with 24 digs to deliver a 25-15, 25-7, 23-25, 25-19 Eureka College volleyball victory over Rockford, Saturday afternoon at the Buc Blast Tournament in Beloit, Wis. The Red Devils suffered a 25-16, 24-26, 26-24, 25-19 defeat to host Beloit in the early match.

Robinson recorded 11 assists versus the Buccaneers and 12 more in the victory over Rockford to increase her career total 1,078 and pass Sheila Uhrig for 10th place on the Red Devils' career assists list.

The Red Devils attacked at a .328 clip as a team in the four-set win over Rockford, committing only eight attack errors on 116 attempts. Eureka also cranked out 10 service aces, three of which came from Sara Worrell (Jacksonville, Ill./Routt Catholic H.S.). Robinson and Kary Langan (Lakewood, Ill./Shelbyville H.S.) had two block solos each.

Eureka took a set from host Beloit in Saturday's 1 p.m. match, but ultimately couldn't get over the hump in a four-set loss. Runa Akagawa (Saitama, Japan/Ritsumeikan Keisho) registered 11 of the Red Devils' 38 kills, Arrenholz logged her first collegiate double-double with 17 assists and 11 digs and Cleer added 20 digs.

With the match tied at one set apiece, Eureka held a 24-22 lead in game three before BC rallied with four points in a row to steal a 26-24 win.

The Bucs scored nine of the first 11 points in game four and appeared to put the contest out of reach, but Eureka answered with six in a row on service from McKenzie Reiners (Miford, Ill./Milford H.S.) to claw within 20-18. A Eureka error ultimately halted the rally and BC's Aryssa Harris ended the match with a kill moments later for a 25-19 victory for the hosts.

Following a challenging stretch to begin the season that included four non-conference matches in less than 24 hours, Eureka will return home to the Reagan Athletic Complex for Tuesday's home opener against Monmouth. First serve against the Fighting Scots at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m.