MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The UW-River Falls volleyball team dropped both its matches at the Augsburg Triangular on Oct. 5.
In both matches, UWRF overcame a 0-1 deficit and played out a full five sets. The losses dropped the Falcons' record on the season to 8-12. Lauren Noth led the way for UWRF with 30 kills across the two matches.
St. Catherine 3, UW-River Falls 2
In a close back-and-forth affair, UWRF held advantages in kills (57-51) and total points (76-69).
Despite falling behind 6-3 early in the first set, the Falcons led by as much as four points midway through the frame, as Ava Goldsberry tallied five kills. Goldsberry tied the game at 24-24 with a kill late in the set, but St. Catherine won consecutive points to take the first set 26-24.
The Wildcats built an early 9-4 lead in the second set, but UWRF fought back in another tightly-contested set. With set point to St. Catherine 24-23, UWRF stayed resilient in the late stages of the frame and pulled away to win 28-26.
The third set saw the Falcons build a 2-1 advantage in the match, as UWRF totaled a .135 hitting percentage and held a 16-8 advantage in kills. The set was tied at 16-16, before the Falcons went on a 9-4 run to close out the set and take a stronghold on the match.
St. Catherine rode a 10-3 run midway through the fourth set to pull away to win 25-15, forcing a winner-take-all fifth set.
UWRF fell behind 4-1 to start the final frame, but rattled off a 6-0 run that prompted a St. Catherine timeout. Late in the set, UWRF led 13-10, before St. Catherine scored four straight points to force match point. The Falcons scored a point to tie the set at 14-14, but the Wildcats scored two consecutive points to win the set 16-14 and take the match in five sets.
Noth led the Falcons with 15 kills, while Reese Bauman tallied 11 and Emily Brenner totaled 10. Noth also had four aces, while Bauman led the team with six blocks.
Augsburg 3, UW-River Falls 2
UWRF's second match of the day once again saw the Falcons battling with their opponent into the fifth set.
Each team traded sets, as Augsburg's 25-19 advantage in first frame put the Falcons down 1-0.
In the second set, UWRF held a 16-13 advantage in kills and found themselves down by five late in the frame. UWRF closed out the frame on a 10-2 run, leveling the match at 1-1.
After Augsburg reclaimed a 2-1 lead after a strong third set, the Falcons came out with their best frame of the match, hitting .310 in the fourth frame. UWRF held a 19-11 advantage in kills en route to a 25-20 victory, forcing a fifth-set tiebreaker.
In the final set of the day, Augsburg built an early lead and never allowed UWRF to mount a full comeback — the Auggies hit .407 in the final frame to win 15-10, taking the match in five sets.
Noth, Bauman, and Blessing Adebisi each led the way with 15 kills. Cora Sayotovich led all players in the match with 51 assists.
Up next, the Falcons will head to the Elmhurst Tournament in Elmhurst, Illinois. The Falcons will face Illinois Wesleyan, Albion, and Elmhurst on Oct. 11-12.
