The Falcons volleyball team stamped an exclamation point to their 2010 season by sweeping through the competition at their home tournament. In the UWRF Trick-or-Treat Classic, the Falcons treated the crowd to four victories to finish the season with 20 wins for the 15th time under head coach Patti Ford.
Sophomore, Courtney Preiner (Oakdale, MN, Hill-Murray) set a new Falcon record by recording 631 digs during the 2010 season. She topped Lindsay Mace's mark of 618 which stood since 2006.
Erin Green (Fridley, MN, Fridley) also finalized a phenomenal sophomore season in which she ranked among the best in the WIAC in four separate categories. Green led the conference in kills and points, ranked second in blocks, and fourth in hitting percentage.
Green put in another fine performance this weekend, enough to land her a spot on the all-tournament team. She was joined by freshman Jean Theis (Shakopee, MN, Shakopee), who had a team-best 58 kills in the tournament.
The Falcons entered the gym Saturday facing two familiar foes in UW-Stout and UW-Superior. The Falcons have enjoyed more success against these two schools than any other in the WIAC, with a combined record of 96-48 against the Blue Devils and Yellowjackets.
UW-River Falls – 3, UW-Stout -1 (23-25, 25-18, 27-25, 25-22)
The Blue Devils came into this match with a lot of momentum riding a season-long three-game winning streak. Stout took the first set after cruising to a 15-5 lead before most Falcon fans had found their seat.
River Falls dominated the second set by jumping to a 12-3 lead and never allowing the Blue Devils within three points. The third set was the pivotal moment of the match as Stout jumped to a 5-0 lead, forcing River Falls to play catch-up most of the set. The game saw three lead changes and nine ties in the final 15 points before the Falcons clinched the set with a 27-25 win. The only time the Falcons led by two points was when the final point dropped giving them the 27-25 edge.
Mackenzie Suda (Ham Lake, MN, Blaine) put in another great day setting up the offense as she racked up 50 assists. Green knocked in 18 kills while hitting .294, both team-bests. Thies added 17 kills and Preiner picked up 28 digs. Abbey Schmidtman (Renville, MN, Renville County West) provided a career-best 22 digs in the match. The Falcons amassed a total of 94 digs in the match, tying a season-high.
Box Score
UW-River Falls – 3, UW-Superior-0 ( 25-22, 25-17, 25-14)
The Falcons defeated Superior for the ninth straight time, winning in straight sets to wrap up the 2010 season.
Sami Kaminski (Weyerhaeuser, WI, Weyerhaeuser) and Liz Braun (Racine, WI, St. Catherine's) played their final match for River Falls as the only two seniors on the squad. Kaminski had 10 kills, four digs, and two block assists and played a major part of the Falcons success in 2010. Braun also added two block assists in her final day as a Falcon.
Preiner set the single-season record for digs in the second set as she totaled 23 in the match, while Schmidtman grabbed 17. Danielle Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, MN, Cretin-Derham Hall) and Jean Thies led the way up front with 12 kills each.
Box Score
This young Falcons team finished the 2010 season with a 20-13 record. Of the six players that played in over 100 sets this year, five will be returning for at least the next two years as they played four sophomores and a freshman in the starting role. Moving forward, with the talent and experience this team holds, they are poised to make a run in the WIAC for years to come.
