DUBUQUE, Iowa — The UW-River Falls Volleyball team lost its two matches at Day 1 of the Loras Tournament in Dubuque, Iowa on Friday, Sept. 13.
The losses moved UWRF's record to 3-6 on the season. Throughout the two games on Day 1 of the tournament, Ava Goldsberry led UWRF with 28 kills.
Tomorrow, UWRF will conclude the Loras Tournament by facing Wartburg and Dubuque.
Loras 3, UW-River Falls 1
Despite trailing for most of the first half of the first set, UWRF clawed back from behind to tie the set at 17-17 and led by as much as 22-19. Loras ended the first set on a 6-1 run, winning a tightly-contested first frame 25-23.
The second set followed a similar pattern, as UWRF trailed early but tied the frame at 15-15. After a close set found its way to 24-24, Loras took the final two points off a block and service ace to take the second set 26-24. UWRF hit .139 in the second frame, the highest of any set for the Falcons.
After a neck-and neck-start to the third frame, UWRF pulled away midway through the period behind a 9-1 run that put the Falcons up 20-11. Loras followed up with a 7-0 run that trimmed UWRF's lead to 20-18, but the Falcons held on to win 25-21 to force a fourth set.
In the fourth set, the Falcons led by upwards of six points, before Loras pulled back ahead with a major run that carried into a 25-18 victory to end the match.
Ava Goldsberry led the way with 20 kills for the Falcons, while Emily Brenner tallied 15. Olivia Gustafsson led all players with 39 assists.
As a team, UWRF held a 50-44 advantage in team kills and a 44-37 advantage in assists.
Washington University 3, UW-River Falls 0
In UWRF's second match of the day, No. 14 WashU pulled away to win in three sets.
The Falcons held a 14-11 advantage in kills in the second set, with Reese Bauman recording four kills in the set.
UWRF played out a closely-contested third set, as the Falcons never trailed by more than four points. With the match on the line down 24-22, River Falls rallied three straight points to take a 25-24 lead. The Falcons and Bears battled into extra time as neither team could pull away until WashU won 30-28. UWRF hit a match-high .120 as a team in the third frame.
Up next, the Falcons return to action at Day 2 of the Loras Tournament in Dubuque, Iowa tomorrow. UWRF will face Wartburg at 10 a.m. and Dubuque at 2 p.m.
