Written by Jack Hart
Rochester got its 2026 volleyball season off to a winning start Monday night, earning a 2-0 victory over Taylorville by scores of 25-19 and 25-15.
The Rockets had a slow start in the opening set, falling behind 13-9 before settling down and finding their rhythm.
Rochester head coach Coach Green said the team had to work through the nerves that come with playing the first match of the season.
“We can have nerves, we can have a high heart rate, but we can still perform and trust what we do in practice,” Green said. “Focus on one thing at a time, just to kind of focus in and not worry about the noise around you.”
After the early struggles, Rochester began to take control and closed out the first set 25-19 before carrying that momentum into the second set.
Peyton Zeidler led the Rockets with six kills, while Cami Tinder added four. Liv Kratochvil and Cami Berberet each finished with three kills.
Tinder also had a strong night setting the offense, recording 15 assists.
“It starts with Cami Tinder,” Zeidler said. “And it starts with the pass to our defense. They are so scrappy. They are everywhere. They’re going for everything, reading around the block. And Cami Tinder, she knows where to put the ball. She knows to lead me.”
Kratochvil led Rochester defensively with eight digs, followed by Katie Riedle with six and Brooklyn Rezba with four.
At the service line, Kratochvil recorded four aces, while Hannah Florent and Riedle each had two.
Berberet led the Rockets with two blocks, while Tinder and Riedle each recorded one.
The win was also a meaningful one for Rochester after the Rockets had struggled in recent meetings at Taylorville.
“This match last year we lost in, and then we beat them later on, and the year before that we lost here,” Green said. “So it had been a while since we won our season opener.”
For Zeidler, getting a win in the gym was something the Rockets were happy to accomplish.
“Man, in this gym, tell me about it. I am like, let’s go,” Zeidler said.
While Rochester came away with the win, Taylorville showed plenty of promise with a young roster. The Tornadoes came out quickly and created an early lead, but Rochester’s defense and offensive consistency eventually proved too much.
Rochester won’t have much time to celebrate the victory.
The Rockets travel to Normal University High School Tuesday night to take on the defending state champions.
Green knows it will be another difficult challenge.
“We’re just going to trust what we can do,” Green said. “It’s not a, ‘Hey, this is our year because they’re down.’ We can’t really have that mentality with U-High.”
Taylorville will look to bounce back Thursday night when the Tornadoes travel to Shelbyville.
