ST. PAUL, Minn. – The UW-River Falls volleyball team opened its 2025 season on Friday afternoon at the University of Northwestern Invite with a 3-1 loss versus Coe College, who was selected first in the American Rivers Conference Preseason Poll and received votes in the AVCA National Poll.
After taking a 1-0 lead with a 25-17 first set victory, the Kohawks prevailed in the next three consecutives set to the win the match (25-23, 25-17, 25-21).
UWRF compiled a .165 hitting percentage with 48 kills and 26 errors, while Coe hit .218, including a 30 percent rate in the second frame.
Individually,
Lauren Noth led the Falcons with 15 kills while adding 12 digs to go with her .323 hitting percentage. In addition,
Cora Sayotovich had 37 assists and
Audrey Petersen had a team-high 18 digs.
In the first set, the Falcons had 17 kills with a .303 attacking percentage, holding Coe to just five kills and forcing six errors. Down 7-5 early on, UWRF had five points in a row to lead 10-7 and didn't look back, maintaining the lead for the rest of the set.
Coe bounced back and edged out the second set 25-23, outpacing UWRF with 17 kills and rallying from several deficits. Momentum shifted strongly in Coe's favor in the third set, as they won decisively 25–17. Despite another comeback effort by UWRF, Coe held strong in the fourth, capturing the set 25-21 and securing the match.
Tomorrow, the Falcons remain in St. Paul and face Bethel University at 11 a.m. and Northwestern at 1:30 p.m.
