Alverno College

MILWAUKEE – The Alverno volleyball team forged a late comeback in the fifth set, but was unable to pick up a conference win over Rockford on Saturday afternoon inside Reiman Gymnasium. The Inferno won the first and third sets, 25-18 and 26-24, but Rockford won sets two and four by identical 25-20 scores before taking the fifth set by a 15-12 score.
 
Alverno trailed in the fifth set by a 13-6 margin, and stormed back behind the service of freshman Sharisty Kooch as sophomore Rolin West had three of her 27 kills during the run in addition to an ace by Kooch. After a well-timed Rockford timeout, the Regents finished the set with the final two points to win the set, 15-12.
 
West led Alverno with her 27 kills, one shy of tying her program-record of 28 kills set back during her freshman season on September 3 vs. Beloit. The sophomore also had a .419 hitting percentage and chipped in with one ace and 16 digs. Senior Alex McMath had 30 assists, reaching the 30-assist plateau for just the second time this season and the eighth time in her career, as she became just the second-ever Inferno setter to reach the 1,400 assist mark and now sits at 1,410 for her career.
 
McMath and Kooch were tied for the team lead with six aces apiece, as McMath also inches closer to the all-time mark of 146, as she has totaled 136 for her four-year career.
 
Sophomore Natalie Onozie was second on the team with 11 kills and also helped out on defensive with eight digs and one block. Junior Selena Upshur had four kills and two blocks with a pair of digs, while sophomore Izzy Gianniou added nine assists and two digs.
 
Freshman Breann Flannery had 23 digs on the afternoon from the libero position, to give her 255 on the season, reaching 20+ digs for just the third time this season and twice in the last three matches. In addition to her six aces, Kooch had 10 digs, while West added 16 on the defensive end. Freshman Jalea Taylor had the team's lone solo block of the day, and chipped in one other, while classmate Lynnica Harley was tied with McMath for the team-lead in blocks with three on the day as the Inferno combined for six total on the match.
 
Alverno cruised to an early 7-3 lead in the opening set on a pair of aces by Kooch and a pair of kills by West. Rockford closed the gap to 10-8, but the Inferno scored seven of the next nine points to put the home side ahead 17-10. The Regents were able to get the score closer, but it was not enough as the Inferno finished off the set with a 6-2 rally, including the finisher by McMath off of a pass by Onozie.
 
The second set saw the initial 12 points split evenly before Alverno got a pair of kills by West, and a block by Harley and McMath to take a 9-6 lead. The Inferno led 14-12, before Rockford regained the lead at 16-14. Alverno got back within one at 21-20 but Rockford scored the last four.
 
Alverno trailed early in the third set, but used a 6-0 run midway through to take a 13-10 advantage. The Regents answered back with a 7-1 run of their own to regain a 20-18 lead, before Alverno erased a 23-20 deficit with a 6-1 run to pick up the win, as West connected on the final three kills.
 
Rockford picked up the fourth set win by a 25-20 score and took a 10-3 lead in the final set. McMath spearheaded the effort with a kill to set up a back-and-forth, which saw Rockford lead by a 13-6 margin.
 
Onozie got a kill off of a pass by McMath before Kooch collected a service ace to pull Alverno within two. West added another kill followed by a Rockford error, and back-to-back kills by West to pull Alverno back within one at 13-12. The Regents called a timeout and collected the final two kills to seal the win.
 
Alverno (5-16, 0-9 NACC) will wrap up the home season on Tuesday evening, when Alverno hosts the Lakeland Muskies for a 7 p.m. start inside the Reiman Gymnasium.