There was a flare for the dramatic tonight at Karges Center as UW- River Falls women's volleyball squad fell just short of a compelling comeback against the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (15-14, 2-3 WIAC).
The Falcons lost the fifth set 17-15 after rallying back from as much as seven points in the fourth set.
The Falcons won the first set 25-19 and looked right on their way to earning that much desired fourth conference win. They got off to an early 5-2 lead in the set, but their work was far from over as the Blugolds continued to nip at their heels the entire time, even coming as close as two points midway through the set.
The Blugolds battled back in the second set to win 25-22 over UWRF. They were the first to five points and never looked back from there. UWEC's biggest lead at one point was six, and fought off a late surge by the Falcons to even up the match.
The third set was back and forth between the two rivals. UWEC was able to pull away and at one point led 20-12 over the Falcons.
Arguably the most exciting set of the night was the fourth set. The Falcons were trailing almost the entire set before surging to victory. They rallied when facing match point multiple times to win the set 26-24 and appeared to have all the momentum moving into the fifth and final set.
The Falcons flew to an early 5-3 lead over the Blugolds as they were still carrying the momentum from the fourth set.They continued to lead until the Blugolds tied it at 14 apiece. The momentum was now back in favor of the Blugolds as they were able to beat the Falcons 17-15 in five sets and win the match 3-2.
Strong individual performance from junior Brianna Muetzel as she tallied a team high of 16 kills to go along with 16 digs. Sophomore Raven Klein accounted for a team high in assists (52), service aces (4) and also added 12 digs. Junior Lexi Pingel once again led the team with 19 digs. One surprise of the night was freshman Amara Meyer who came off the bench and finished with eight kills.
The Falcons fall to 9-14 overall, and have now lost eight straight matches. They look to bounce back this weekend as they head to a tournament in UW-Oshkosh. Their first game  is at 5 p.m., vs Wartburg College. The Falcons next home match is next Wednesday at 7 p.m., against UW-Superior in their annual Breast Cancer Awareness Match.
