Who were the top 6 girls volleyball players in Rockford area this season?
Belvidere North won six straight NIC-10 girls volleyball titles, winning 79 consecutive league matches.
Hononegah took that away in 2022, sweeping North to go undefeated in the league. Bree Messenger then made sure Belvidere North got back on top, leading the Blue Thunder (33-7, 18-0 NIC-10) to another conference title and the Class 3A supersectionals. For that, she was named the NIC-10 MVP as well as our Rockford area volleyball player of the year.
“She had to deal with a lot,” North coach Amanda Carlson said. “She was targeted so often in serve receive. Everyone planned their blocking schemes and their backcourt defensive schemes, especially around Bree and her tendencies. She had to deal with that still was able to hit for a high percentage.
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“She meant so much to us. She played every set of every match. Even the times we should have rested her, we didn’t. We couldn’t. And she would have been mad if we had.”
Messenger, a 5-9 senior outside hitter, was a six-rotation player who will play in college at NCAA Division II Central Missouri. She was a key reserve on Belvidere North’s Class 3A state runner-up team as a sophomore. As the only returning regular from that team, she has been North’s star the last two years. This year, the Blue Thunder won only their third sectional title in history and the second with Messenger.
She finished with 310 kills, 66 aces and 234 digs among her key stats.
“She’s been a huge part of our success over the last few seasons,” Carlson said. “While undersized, she’s extremely dynamic and has a fast arm swing that allows her to play above her 5-9 frame.”
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Here are the other five members of our 2023 Rockford All-Area Girls Volleyball team, with players listed in alphabetical order:
Molly Amendt, Lena-Winslow
Amendt, a 5-11 senior middle blocker, led Le-Win to a school-record 37-3 season. She was the only Rockford-area player named first-team All-State, being picked in Class 1A by the Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association. Amendt had 350 kills vs. only 65 errors, with 10 blocks, 42 block assists and 101 digs. She is a three-time first-team all-conference pick in the NUIC North.
Lily Fox, Hononegah
Fox, a 5-9 outside hitter, led Hononegah (27-11, 16-2) to a runner-up finish in the NIC-10 behind Belvidere North. She had 181 kills, 195 digs, 31 aces and 19 solo blocks.
Megan Holder, Freeport Aquin
Holder, a 5-5 senior setter, had 731 assists, 251 digs and 108 kills or Aquin (27-9). She had 2,690 assists and 704 digs the last three years for a team that had one of the best three-year runs in area history, going 107-13-1 in that span with one Class 1A state title and another third-place finish before getting bumped up to 2A this year by the IHSA’s success factor and losing 2-1 to defending 2A state champ Genoa-Kingston in the regional finals.
Rhiannon Robertson, Durand
The 6-1 senior outside hitter led Durand to a 30-8 record, the third-best in school history. She had 388 kills — more than twice as many as any other Bulldog — 63 aces, 28 blocks and 234 digs. She has signed to play for NCAA Division I North Dakota State, which is 39-23 the last two years. She is a three-time unanimous all-conference choice in the NUIC North and conference MVP as a senior. “Rhiannon is super versatile and dedicated,” Durand coach Molly Kelsey said. “She was able to shut down teams due to her strong swings on the outside and large block. She showed her confidence in postseason by playing all out and demanding the ball when needed.”
Sydney Stanfield, Rockford Christian
Stanfield, a 6-foot senior outside hitter, had 304 kills, 231 digs, 47 aces and 25 blocks to lead Rockford Christian to a runner-up finish in the Big Northern, one spot ahead of Rock Falls, which finished third in the state in Class 2A. She had a season-high 23 kills against Class 1A state champ Galena. Rockford Christian was winless in 2020, then with Stanfield improved to nine wins her first year and then 23-11-1 and 29-5-1 the last two seasons. She has signed to play for NCAA Division I Sacred Heart.
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford's all-area girls volleyball team and top player named
