MEQUON, Wis. – It was a party in the newly renovated R. John Buuck Fieldhouse on Tuesday night. The Concordia Wisconsin women's volleyball team gave the Falcon faithful a lot to cheer about in the 25-20, 15-14, 25-19 victory. The 1527 fans saw the Falcons open Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play with the victory that sent the Blue and White to 5-7 and hand Rockford its first loss of the season at 2-1.
The Regents were able to withstand the noise from the packed stands and forced the Falcons to call a timeout with a 13-10 lead. The Falcons did not fold and reclaimed the lead at 17-16 with a service ace from senior Emma Essex (Hoffman Estates, Ill.). The serve of Emma Essex gave the Regents issues and ballooned the Blue and White to 21-16. Junior Noelle Smith (Davenport, Iowa) and junior Mickenzi Benter (De Pere, Wis.) showed why they were named the Student-Athletes of the Week in the NACC and ended the set with a pair of kills to end the first set at 25-20.
Junior Abby Proefrock (Grafton, Wis.) put the Falcons up 4-0 early in the second set with her sensational serving. The Regents rumbled back with the next six points of the night. It was all Falcons from there and the Birds soared back with a 4-0 run. The high water mark came with a 12-point lead at 22-10 with a kill from Mickenzi Benter.
Rockford rallied early in the third set and pushed the lead to 7-4. Trailing 9-10, the serve of sophomore Emily Dickmann (Grafton, Wis.) destroyed the Regents and gave the Falcons a 15-10 lead. Dickmann dropped four service aces on Rockford in the run. The Purple and White stayed in the match and trimmed the CUW lead to 20-19, but the Falcons took the final five points to the match to end the celebration. Junior Paige Stickney (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) had three kills in the final four points.
Paige Stickney cut apart the Rockford defense with 12 kills in the victory to lead the match. She and sophomore Skylar Kumprey (New Berlin, Wis.) both had two blocks.
The Falcons once again had a balanced attack with eight Falcons with a kill. The Birds dished out 46 assists on the evening with freshman McKenna Oetzman (Reedsburg, Wis.) adding 26 and Emily Dickmann at 13.
The Birds held a 9-0 advantage in service aces on Tuesday. Emily Dickmann finished the night with four, while Emma Essex and Noelle Smith snagged two.
Junior Brianna Lundt (Brandon, Wis.) anchored another stellar outing for the back row with 12 of the 38 digs.
The Falcons hit a season-best .303 on Tuesday.
Concordia Wisconsin continues the homestand on Saturday against Carroll.
