ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS -- The Ellsworth volleyball team picked up a nice come-from-behind win over Elgin CC and a victory over Illinois Valley in splitting four matches -- all against Illinois schools -- in a tournament that opened the 2022 season for the Panthers.

ECC rallied after dropping the first two sets in their opener against Elgin on Friday, taking the final three sets, 25-14, 25-19 and 15-8.  The Panthers then lost a tough five-setter to Lake County (17-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-17, 11-15).  Ellsworth's Louise Lion had a good effort at the net vs. Lake County with a team-high 13 kills for a Panther team that hit .309 for the match.  Yanilette Diaz and Katie Winter both added 7 kills and Dylann Stephenson and Audrey Melson had 6 each.  Nuria Bravo Santos, this year's setter, posted 38 assists, and 4 Panthers had double-digit digs totals.  Lion led the way with 15, Alondra Acevedo had 13, Diaz 12 and Bravo Santos 11. Stephenson notched 6 solo blocks and Winter had 5 solos and 9 total blocks.

Saturday's play began with a 3-1 victory against Illinois Valley (25-18, 23-25, 25-12, 25-16), followed by a 3-0 loss to Spoon River (23-25, 14-25, 24-26).  Winter pounded a team-best 10 kills in the Illinois Valley match and Stephenson added 8.  Bravo Santos was credited with 34 assists.  ECC had a whopping 16 service aces, a total that included 5 apiece for Lion and Adriana Cristina Ramos Delgado.  Ramos Delgado topped the Panthers with her 12 digs, Diaz adding 10.  Stephenson was strong at the net again with 9 solo blocks.

The match with Spoon River featured 7 kills by both Winter and Stephenson and 6 by Melson.  Bravo Santos added 26 assists to her tournament total.  Diaz led with 14 digs and Acevedo chipped in 10.  Stephenson accounted for 5 solo blocks and Winter had a total of 8.

The Panthers head to Rosemount, Minnesota on Wednesday for a pair of matches -- one against the host school, Dakota County Tech, and the other against North Dakota State College of Science.