RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin women's volleyball team opened play at the Falcon Invitational on Friday evening against Bethel. The Falcons battled throughout all three sets, but the Royals came away with a 3-0 victory at Wisconsin-River Falls.
Bethel claimed the match by scores of 25-21, 25-22 and 25-17 as Concordia Wisconsin moved to 3-2 on the season.
The Falcons battled back from an early deficit in the opening set. Bethel built a 9-4 advantage before CUW responded with an 8-3 run to tie the set at 12-12. Sophomore Kirsten Krause (Pocatello, Idaho) fueled the charge with three consecutive kills before freshman Payton Vogel (Fort Worth, Texas) delivered a service ace to even the score.
Freshman Brianna Stewart (De Pere, Wis.) followed with a kill to give CUW its first lead of the set at 13-12. The two sides continued to trade points, with Krause putting the Falcons ahead again at 14-13. Bethel eventually regained control and opened a 22-16 advantage. The Falcons refused to go quietly, however, as Stewart collected back-to-back kills during a late push before Bethel closed the set at 25-21.
Concordia Wisconsin again showed its fight in the second set. After falling behind 4-1, Stewart struck for consecutive kills and added a solo block as the Falcons surged ahead, 5-4.
Bethel answered and eventually stretched its advantage to 19-12, but CUW put together its strongest run of the set down the stretch. Senior Emily Dickmann (Grafton, Wis.) started the comeback with a kill, and Stewart added another as the Falcons chipped away at the deficit.
With Bethel leading 23-18, the Falcons rattled off four straight points. Junior Madison Cimbalnik (Sturtevant, Wis.) helped CUW apply pressure from the service line, while Stewart slammed down consecutive kills to pull the Falcons within one at 23-22. The Royals, however, collected the final two points to escape with a 25-22 victory.
The third set featured another back-and-forth battle early. Freshman Emy Miller (West Bend, Wis.) delivered an ace before freshman Bailey Bonde (Seymour, Ind.) recorded a kill. Freshman Makenna Thompson (McCordsville, Ind.) followed with an ace, and Dickmann put away a kill to give the Falcons a 6-5 advantage.
Freshman Reagan Campbell (Riverton, Ill.) later connected on a pair of kills as CUW held a 10-9 edge. The teams remained tied at 12-12 before Bethel began to pull away. The Royals used a 12-3 run to reach match point at 24-15. Stewart answered with a kill during a late CUW push, but Bethel finished the match at 25-17.
Stewart turned in a standout performance for the Falcons, finishing with a match-high 13 kills on 19 attacks with only three errors for a .526 hitting percentage. She also added a solo block. Krause finished with seven kills, while Campbell and Dickmann chipped in four kills apiece.
Dickmann directed the CUW attack with 26 assists and added seven digs. Miller anchored the defensive effort with a match-high 17 digs while adding an ace. Vogel collected eight digs and an ace, while Thompson added four digs and an ace.
The Falcons finished with 37 kills and 49 digs while Bethel totaled 38 kills and 53 digs. The Royals held an advantage from the service line with seven aces compared with three for CUW.
Concordia Wisconsin continues play on Saturday at the Falcon Invitational in River Falls against Lake Forest and UWRF.
