ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Wisconsin-River Falls volleyball team opened its 2021 campaign at St. Catherine University on Sept. 1 falling by a score of 3-0.
 
The home team opened the first set on a 13-4 run and rode that margin of lead throughout. UWRF cut the Wildcat lead to single digits after four-straight points and three consecutive kills, but SCU answered on a 7-5 run to close out the set at 26-15.
 
The second frame opened with four lead changes to start, and a pair of kills from Sami Hilley gave the Falcons a 13-12 lead to force a SCU timeout.
 
UWRF and St. Kate's traded a pair of runs, setting the score at 21-20 in favor of the home team at the back end of the set after four consecutive Falcon points. The Wildcats came out of a timeout forcing a trio of Falcon errors and eventually took a 25-22 set victory.
 
Down 2-0, the Falcons responded with their best attacking percentage per set in the third at a rate of 24 percent, however the Wildcats were strong, hitting .429 and maintaining a lead for much of the set.
 
Hilley led the Falcons with nine kills, followed by six from Katie Koerper. Setter Haley Cuba tallied 17 and Brooke Voigt led the defense with 11 digs. 
 
Up Next
UWRF heads to Iowa this weekend to compete in the Sugar Loaf Classic, hosted by Wartburg College and Luther College. The Falcons will take on Milwaukee School of Engineering and Wartburg on Friday before battling Edgewood and Gustavus on Saturday.
 
Wartburg and Gustavus both received votes in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 Poll.