The Falcon volleyball team finished 3-1 at the Coe College Tournament played Friday and Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
On Friday the Falcons split the two matches they played. They opened with a 3-2 win over North Central, but then lost, 3-0, to the host school.
The Falcons came back strong with two 3-0 win on Saturday over Dubuque and Simpson College.
Coe finished the tourney with a perfect 4-0 record and the Falcons were second with their 3-1 card.
River Falls 3, North Central 2 (21-25, 25-21, 25-18. 20-25, 15-11)
The Falcons had a rough first set, but came back win back-to-back wins before finally winning the decisive fifth set, 15-11. After hitting -.061 in the first set the Falcons hit .200 and .250 in sets two and three. in the fifth set they put forward their best effort with a .318 hitting percentage.
Erin Green (Fridley, MN, Fridley)had a big match leading the Falcons with 21 kills. The 21 kills is the second most for her in a match this year. She also had a great match at the net finishing with three solo and three block assists. She also had two aces and seven digs. Danielle Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, MN, Cretin-Derham Hall) finished with 12 kills and she had 12 digs and an ace. Jean Theis (Shakopee, MN, Shakopee) had eight kills. Mackenzie Suda (Ham Lake, MN, Blaine) led the Falcons with 38 assists and she had 16 digs. She also led UWRF with three aces. Courtney Preiner (Oakdale, MN, Hill-Murray)played her usual great defensive game and led the Falcons with 26 digs. Sami Kaminski (Weyerhaeuser, WI, Weyerhaeuser), who had six kills, finished with 11 digs.
Coe 3, River Falls 0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-21)
The Falcons ran into a hot host team and lost in three sets. Green and Gibbemeyer led UWRF with nine kills each. Green also had two solo blocks and four block assists while Gibbemeyer had one solo and two block assists. Kaminski finished with eight kills and nine digs. Suda finished with 32 assists and eight digs. Preiner was the only Falcon to finish in double figures in digs with 20.
River Falls 3, Dubuque 0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-22)
The Falcons hit a tourney best .310 in the win over Dubuque. Green finished with 14 kills and a team high .478 hitting percentage. Gibbemeyer had 10 kills. Kaminski, who hit .467, had seven kills. The Falcons had a season-high 11 aces, led by Kaminski with four, but they also had nine service errors. Preiner led the Falcons with nine digs. Suda again led UWRF with 39 assists.
River Falls 3, Simpson 0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-17)
The Falcons played another great match in the win over Simpson. They improved their hitting percentage with each match starting with .189, moving to .250 and finishing with .342 in the third set. Green and Gibbemeyer each had 11 kills. Gibbemeyer hit .321 and Green .318. Theis finished with seven kills. Suda again led the Falcons with 40 assists and five aces. The five aces ties her season high. Preiner had 18 digs and Suda 11. UWRF finished with two solo and 12 block assists. Green finished with five block assists and Theis had the two solo blocks.
The Falcons, now 13-10 overall, will host UW-Superior in a WIAC match on Wednesday at the Karges Center. The Senior and Parents' night match begins at 7 p.m.
