CLAREMONT, Calif. – The UW-River Falls volleyball team opened its 2024 season on Friday afternoon at the Pacific Coast Classic, falling in four sets to both Whittier College and the University of La Verne.
Tomorrow, the Falcons will wrap up their trip facing No. 3-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer.
Whittier College 3, UW-River Falls 1
In the Falcons' season opener, they came out strong with a 25-13 win in the first set, but the Poets answered with three consecutive set wins to win the match (25-13, 25-23, 27-25).
UWRF hit nearly 25 percent in the first set while holding Whittier to a -0.038 attacking rate with six errors, taking a 1-0 lead before Whittier came back.
The Falcons had a match-high 15 kills in the fourth set, but the Poets closed out the set and match with three-straight points to earn the win.
Collectively,
Emily Brenner,
Lauren Noth, and
Ava Goldsberry led the attack tih 10 kills each, followed by eight from
Blessing Adebisi with a .375 hitting percentage. Setter
Olivia Gustafsson had a career-high 37 assists while
Audrey Petersen led the defensive with 25 digs.
#15 La Verne 3, UW-River Falls 1
Against La Verne, ranked 15th nationally, the Falcons trailed 2-0 before answering with a 25-21 win in set three, but the Leopards won 25-19 in the next frame to pick up the win.
UWRF was held to a .107 hitting percentage while La Verne hit .261.
Down two sets to none, the Falcons put together their strongest set in the third, hitting .222 with 14 kills while forcing eight Leopard attack errors.
Lauren Noth led the Falcons with her second double-double of the day, totaling 14 kills with 13 digs.
Cora Sayotovich had 15 assists and
Audrey Petersen had 18 digs.
