RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The UW-River Falls volleyball team opened its 2025 home schedule on Friday at Page Arena as they hosted day one of the Falcon Invite, defeating Simpson College in four sets before a loss against North Park University.
The Falcons, now 1-4 overall, return to Page Arena tomorrow with matches against Nebraska Wesleyan University and Carleton College.
UW-River Falls 3, Simpson 1
After dropping the opening set, the Falcons responded with three straight wins (19–25, 25–12, 25–13, 25–20) for win number one on the season, opening the Falcon Invite on a good note.
The Falcons were slow out of the gate, falling 25-19 in the first set as Simpson capitalized on early miscues. But from there, it was all UWRF. Behind a balanced attack and sharp serving, the Falcons dominated the second set 25-13, then kept the pressure on with a commanding 25-13 third set.
The fourth set was more competitive, but UWRF closed out the set and match with three points in a row for a 25-20 set and match clincher.
Lauren Noth led the way with 12 kills, followed by 11 from Blessing Adebisi, while Cora Saytovich had a season-high 42 assists. Audrey Petersen led the defense with 13 digs, trailed by Sayotovich's 12.
North Park 3, UW-River Falls 0
During the Falcons' evening match, they were defeated in straight sets by the Vikings, dropping a 3-0 decision (25-16, 25-19, 25-22).
North Park controlled the opening set from the start, earning a 25-16 win while UWRF struggled to establish offensive momentum. The Vikings hit an efficient .303 in the frame, while the Falcons were limited to a .135 percentage.
In the second set, the Falcons showed signs of improvement but couldn't quite close the gap. North Park's steady attack carried them to a 25-19 win. The third set was the most competitive of the match. The Falcons pushed to trim the deficit and matched North Park nearly point for point, but the rally came up short as NPU closed out the sweep.
Kelsey Klesner led the offense, tying a season-high with 11 kills along with a strong .348 hitting percentage.
