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Falcon News

Scheele Named to All-WIAC Volleyball Team; Cooper Named to All-Sportsmanship Squad

Nov. 6, 2007

Falcon outside hitter Kelsey Scheele (So., Norwood, Minn. Mayer Lutheran HS) has been named to the first All-WIAC volleyball team and Nina Cooper (Jr., St. Croix Falls, Wis.) has been named to the All-Sportsmanship team.

Scheele, 5-7, played in all 122 games for the Falcons. She led the team with 445 kills and a .220 hitting percentage. She also led the team with 532 digs. Scheele, one of only two sophomores named to the first All-WIAC team, had 30 service aces and 41 blocks. She was named the team's Player of the Week four times. The 532 digs is sixth in a single season.

"Kelsey is a complete volleyball player and that was demonstrated throughout the season. She established herself as one of the top outside hitters in the WIAC by providing the Falcons with valuable stats in hitting and defensive categories. She is a very solid volleyball player and has great court sense. Even though many teams focused on her she always found a way to score," said Falcon Coach Patti Ford.

The league's All-Sportsmanship Team is for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. The team included one member from each school as selected by that school. "Nina is the true essence of team. She has great passion for playing volleyball and works extremely hard on her game. Nina is a gifted leader and her spirit and good humor creates an environment that is fun and enjoyable," said Ford.

The Falcons finished the 2007 season with an 8-26 overall and a 1-7 WIAC record.

2007 Schedule

2007 Statistics

Kelsey Scheele Nina Cooper
Kelsey Scheele Nina Cooper

Volleyball Team Finishes 2-2 at Elmhurst Tourney

Oct. 30, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team ended its season on a positive note winning two matches on Saturday at the Elmhurst Tournament.

The Falcons beat Westminister and Marian three games to none on Saturday. Against Westminister Kelsey Scheele led the team with 12 kills and 12 digs. Gina DeRosa had seven klls and three block assists. Emily Hagen had 18 assists and Becky Ponick had seven aces and 13 assists. Against Marian, Scheele ended the year with 27 kills, two aces and 18 digs. Andria Vetsch had seven kills. Hagen led the team with 28 assists and 21 digs. She had three aces.

On Friday the Falcons lost to Concordia-Chicago and Elmhurst, three games to none. Against Concordia DeRosa led the team with 12 kills, a solo block and two block assists. Scheele had seven kills and a team-high 12 digs. Ashley Wheeler had six kills. Hagen had 18 assists and four aces and Ponick had 17 assists. Against Elmhurst DeRosa had 10 kills and two block assists. Courtney Schroeder led the team with 18 digs. Scheele had seven kills and 15 digs. Mandy McKenzie had 15 digs. Wheeler had one solo and six block assists and Margret Rubis had six block assists.

The Falcons end the 2007 season with a 8-26 record.

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele Gina DeRosa
Kelsey Scheele Courtney Schroeder

Volleyball Team Loses WIAC Match to Warhawks

Oct. 20, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team lost to No. 8 ranked UW-Whitewater, three games to one, Saturday afternoon at the Karges Center.

UWW won the first two games, 30-22 and 30-23. The Falcons came back to win the third game, 33-31. UWW closed out the match with a 30-18 win in game four.

Kelsey Scheele led the Falcons with 16 kills and 29 digs. Courtney Schroeder finished with a team high three aces and she had 10 kills and 17 digs. Gina DeRosa, who had seven kills, led the Falcons with two solo blocks and five block assists. Margret Rubis, who had nine kills, had seven block assists. Ashley Wheeler had six block assists to go along with six kills. Andria Vetsch had seven kills and four block assists. Mandy McKenzie had 17 digs. Emily Hagen, who led UWRF with 22 assists, had 14 digs. Becky Ponick had 13 digs and 20 assists.

UWW, now 23-4 overall and 7-0 in the WIAC, was led by Kelly Sorensonand Carley Polk who each had 13 kills.

The Falcons, now 6-24 overall and 1-7 in the WIAC, will play at the Elmhurst Tourney on Friday and Saturday.

Box Score

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele Courtney Schroeder
Kelsey Scheele Courtney Schroeder

Volleyball Team Falls to UW-Oshkosh

Oct. 19, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team lost to UW-Oshkosh in four games.
The Falcons lost the first game 30-18 and came back to win game two 30-27 and lost games three and four 30-19, 30-27 for the match.

Gina DeRosa led the Falcons in kills with 13 in addition to having four blocking assists. Kelsey Scheele also reached double digits in kills with 12 and had 15 digs, one blocking assists and two service aces. Margret Rubis pulled down eight kills and lead the game in blocking with seven blocking assists and three solo blocks in addition to digging six balls and had a team high of three service aces. Andria Vetsch and Ashley Wheeler each had seven kills while Vetsch had 4 digs and three blocking assists whereas Wheeler had two digs, and five blocking assists. Courtney Schroeder had five kills, one blocking assist and a team high 23 digs. Emily Hagen and Becky Ponic each had 14 digs. Hagen also had one blocking assist. Mandy McKenzie contributed to the Falcon effort with 16 digs.

The Falcons, now 6-23 overall and 1-6 in the WIAC, will host UW-Whitewater this Saturday Oct. 20, at 12 noon at the Karges Center.

2007 Schedule

Gina DeRosa-3.JPG Margret Rubis-3.JPG
Gina DeRosa Margret Rubis

Ford Wins 400th Career Match

Oct. 17, 2007

Falcon volleyball Coach Patti Ford earned her 400 th career win when the Falcons defeated Macalester, three games to two, on Tuesday night (Oct. 16) at the Karges Center.

Ford, in her 16 th year with the Falcons, has a 400-193 record. She is second among active WIAC coaches in wins and is fifth of all WIAC coaches in career victories. She has led the Falcons to six NCAA Div. III national playoff berths. She has led UWRF to four (1996, 1999, 2002, 2003) WIAC regular season titles and one (1996) tournament playoff championship. The 1999 Falcon team finished the WIAC season with a perfect 8-0 record.

Ford has coached seven AVCA All-Americans, 15 AVCA All-Region players, two WIAC Players of the Year, four WIAC Scholar-Athletes and 23 All-WIAC players.

In 2003 Ford led the Falcons to 35 wins and to the NCAA Sweet 16.   In 1995 the Falcons set a record for season wins with 38. She has been named the WIAC Coach of the Year in 1996, 2000 and 2003.

The Falcons host UW-Oshkosh on Friday at 7 p.m., and UW-Whitewater on Saturday at noon at the Karges Center.


Patti Ford

Year Record WIAC
2006 24-13, .648 4-4 (5th)
2005 17-18, .486 2-6 (5th, tie)
2004 24-11, .685 5-3 (3rd, tie)
2003 35-6, .853 7-1 (1st, tie)
2002 31-8, .794 7-1 (1st, tie)
2001 20-17, .540 5-3 (3rd, tie)
2000 27-11, .710 7-1 (2nd)
1999 30-7, .810 8-0 (1st)
1998 32-6, .842 6-2 (2nd)
1997 23-11, .676 5-3 (3rd)
1996 34-5, .871 7-1 (1st)
1995 38-7, .844 6-2 (3rd)
1994 24-15, .615 5-3 (4th)
1993 23-14, .621 1-7 (8th)
1992 12-22, .352 2-6 (7th)
Totals 394-171, .697 77-43, .641

Volleyball Team Snaps Losing Streak With Win Over Macalester

Oct. 16, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team beats Macalester in five games, giving Coach Ford her 400th win.

The Falcons won the first two games 30-23, 30-24, then lost games three and four, 22-30, 22-30, and came back to win game five for the match 15-7.

Gina DeRosa led the Falcons in kills with 14. She also had six blocking assists, two solo blocks and one dig. Kelsey Scheele was the only other Falcon to reach double digit kills with 12 and led with 27 digs. She also had one blocking assist, one solo block and one service ace. Courtney Schroeder and Andria Vetsch each had seven kills while Schroeder had 14 digs and one blocking assist whereas Vetsch had six digs, four blocking assists and one solo block. Margret Rubis had four kills, seven digs and four blocking assists. Mandy McKenzie led the Falcons in service aces with two, in addition to digging 25 balls. Emily Hagen and Becky Ponic each had one service ace while Hagen had 12 digs to Ponic’s 15.

Tonight’s victory was Patti Ford's 400th win of her collegiate career.

The Falcons, now 6-22 overall and 1-5 in the WIAC, will host UW-Oshkosh this Friday Oct. 19, at 7p.m in the Karges Center.

2007 Schedule

Gina DeRosa-3.JPG Mandy McKenzie-2.JPG
Gina DeRosa Mandy McKenzie

Falcons Lose Twice at Wartburg Tourney

Oct. 13, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team lost two matches on Saturday at the Wartburg Tournament.

The Falcons lost to Bethel in the team's first match, 30-27, 20-30, 30-21, 30-20.

Gina DeRosa led the Falcon attack with 15 kills. She had two solo and four block assists. Kelsey Scheele finished with nine kills, two aces and 21 digs. Mandy McKenzie led the team with 22 digs. Courtney Schroeder had four kills, two aces adn 19 digs. Ashley Wheeler finished with eight kills and three block assists. Becky Ponick had 21 assists and nine digs while Emily Hagen had 16 assists and nine digs.

In the team's final match of the day the Falcons lost a three games to two decision to Augustana. UWRF won the first (32-30) and third games (30-22) while Augustana won the second (30-28), fourth (30-21) and the decding fifth game (15-4).

Four Falcons had double digits in kills led by Scheele who had 14. Schroeder and Margret Rubis had 12 each and Andria Vetsch had 10. Vetsch had eight block assists and Rubis had one solo block and four block assists. Scheele had 34 digs to lead the Falcons. Schroeder had 23 digs and McKenzie had 21. Ponick, who had 28 assists, and Hagen, who had 27 assists, each had 13 digs. DeRosa, who had seven kills, had two solo and six block assists.

The Falcons, now 5-22 overall will host Macalester on Tuesday at 7 p.m., at the Karges Center.

RF-Bethel Box

RF-Augustana Box

2007 Schedule

Courtney Schroeder-2.JPG Andria Vetsch-3.JPG
Courtney Schroeder Andria Vetsch

Falcons Lose Twice at Wartburg Tourney

Oct. 12, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team lost two close matches at the first day of the Wartburg Tournament on Friday.

UWRF opened with a 3-2 loss to Simpson. Simpson won the first two games, 30-19 and 30-22. The Falcons battled back to win the next two, 30-26 and 30-18. Simpson took the deciding game, 15-11.

Krista Russell and Kelsey Scheele led the Falcons with 14 kills each. Ashley Wheeler had 11 and Gina DeRosa had eight. Scheele also led the Falcons with four aces and 23 digs. Emly Hagen led the Falcons with 29 assists and she had 19 digs. She had two aces. Becky Ponick, who had 16 assists, had 10 digs. Mandy McKenzie finished with 16 digs and two aces. DeRosa led the Falcons at the net with one solo and four block assists. Margret Rubis had five kills, three aces and four block assists.

The Falcons lost a three games to one match to Illinois Wesleyan. IWU won the first two games, 30-16 and 30-18. The Falcons won the third game, 30-28, before IWU won the fourth, 30-24.

Scheele was the only Falcon to reach double digits in kills - she had 10. She had 15 digs and two block assists. Amy Weber had 17 digs to lead UWRF. Rubis finished four kills, a team high five aces and nine block assists. Wheeler had nine kills and eight block assists. DeRosa finished with six kills and four block assists. Hagen, who had 23 assists, had 11 digs and Ponick, who had 10 assists, also had 11 digs. McKenzie had 14 digs.

The Falcons, now 5-20 overall and 1-5 in the WIAC, and will face Bethel at 9 a.m., on Saturday in the second day of the Wartburg Tourney. The Falcons will face another team depending on their finish in pool play.

2007 Schedule

Ashley Wheeler Margret Rubis
Ashley Wheeler Margret Rubis

Volleyball Team Comes Up Short Against UW-Stout

Oct. 10, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team loses WIAC match to UW-Stout in four games.

The Falcons lost the first two games 30-25, 30-19, came back to win the third game 30-24 and lost the fourth and final game 30-27.

Kelsey Scheele led the falcon in kills and digs, 14 and 23 respectively. She had two blocking assists as well. Brittany Johnson had 10 kills and one service ace. Gina DeRosa had nine kills, five blocking assists and one dig. Ashley Wheeler knocked down eight kills, dug five balls, had one blocking assist and one solo block. Emily Hagen dug five balls, had two blocking assists, two serving aces and three kills. Mandy McKenzie added to the defensive effort with 21 digs and had two serving aces.

The Falcons, now 5-18 overall and 1-5 in the WIAC, and will next compete in the Wartburg College Tournament, this weekend. Their first match is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 12, at 8p.m.

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele-4.JPG Brittany Johnson
Kelsey Scheele Brittany Johnson

Volleyball Team Loses to La Crossse

Oct. 06, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team loses WIAC match against UW-La Crosse in four games.

The Falcons won the first game 31-29, and lost the next three 32-30, 30-17 and 30-28.

Kelsey Scheele was the only Falcon to reach double digits in kills with 19. She also dug 17 balls, and served two aces. Margret Rubis had nine kills, two digs and one service ace. Gina DeRosa and Andria Vetsch had eight kills apiece and DeRosa had three blocking assists and one solo block while Vetsch had two digs. Ashley Wheeler added five kills, six digs and one blocking assist. Amy Weber led the Falcons in digs with 24 while adding six kills, and one blocking assist. Emily Hagen chipped in with 14 digs, two kills and one blocking assist and service ace. Mandy McKenzie helped the defensive effort with 15 digs.

The Falcons, now 5-17 overall and 1-4 in the WIAC, and will host UW-Stout at the Karges Center Wednesday Oct. 10th at 7p.m

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele-4.JPG Margret Rubis
Kelsey Scheele Margret Rubis

Volleyball Team Loses at Platteville

Oct. 05, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team loses WIAC match against UW-Platteville in three games.

The Pioneers won, 30-20, 30-24 and 30-22.

Kelsey Scheele led the Falcons in kills with eight, and added seven digs and two service aces. Both Gina DeRosa and Ashley Wheeler had five kills. DeRosa also had four blocking assists and two solo blocks while Wheeler contributed three blocking assists and one dig of her own. Courtney Schroeder added three kills and seven digs. Andria Vetsch also had three kills and had four blocking assists. Mandy McKenzie was the only falcon to reach double digits in digs with 12. Krista Russell had five digs and two kills. Emily Hagen helped the Falcon effort with five digs, one kill, and four serving aces.

The Falcons, now 5-16 overall and 1-3 in the WIAC, will next play at La Crosse at noon Saturday Oct. 6th.

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele-4.JPG
Kelsey Scheele Emily Hagen

Volleyball Team Goes 0-4 in Simpson Tournament

Sept. 30, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team lost all four matches at the Simpson College Tournament this past weekend.

River Falls’ first loss was against Loras with the score of 30-24, 30-21, and 30-22. Kelsey Scheele led the Falcons with seven kills, 16 digs and one blocking assist. Gina Derosa knocked down six kills of her own as well as six assisting blocks and dug two balls. Mandy McKenzie also had 16 digs and one kill. Emily Hagen had five digs and two blocking assists.

Wartburg handed UWRF their second loss of the tournament with the scores of 30-25, 30-24, 30-16. Scheele led with eight kills and dug six. DeRosa managed to hit five kills and had one assisting block. Becky Ponic had two service aces, four kills and 11 digs. Krista Russell added four kills, and three digs. Drew Hample had two service aces and three digs. McKenzie led the Falcons in digs with 15.

The Falcons third loss came against hosting Simpson with the score of 30-28, 30-27, 30-25. Once again Scheele led the Falcons with 17 kills, eight digs, three assisting and one solo block. Hample led in digs with 15, and hit two serving aces. DeRosa hit eight kills, had three blocking assists and one dig. Ashley Wheeler hit six kills, had three blocking assists and one solo block, and dug one ball. Sam Kaminiski had five kills, three digs and one serving ace. Elizabeth Braun had two kills, one dig and a team high five blocking assists. Russell added one kill and eight digs.

River Falls’ fourth loss was against Principia with the score of 30-21, 30-25, and 30-22. Scheele led the Falcons in kills for the fourth time of the tournament with 12. She also dug 12 balls, and had one serving ace. DeRosa added nine kills of her own as well as a team high three solo blocks and one blocking assist, and one dig. McKenzie led in digs with 14, and had one serving ace. Ponic had 12 digs, and three kills. Andria Vetsch had five kills, three blocking assists and one dig. Margret Rubis had four kills, six digs, four blocking assists and once service ace.

The Falcons next game is against UW-Platteville on Friday Oct. 5th at 7p.m. in Platteville.

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele-4.JPG Gina DeRosa
Kelsey Scheele Gina DeRosa

Volleyball Team Falls to UW-Eau Claire

Sept. 26, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team goes 1-2 in WIAC play with a loss to UWEC this past Wednesday night.

UWEC won all three games to end the match with scores of 30-13, 30-25, 30-23.

Kelsey Scheele lead the Falcons with 11 kills, and added 10 digs, two service aces and one blocking assist. Gina DeRosa contributed six kills of her own as well as one solo block and four blocking assists. Drew Hample had a team leading 12 digs. Emily Hagen added to the Falcon effort with nine assists, eight digs, two service aces and one kill.

The Falcons, now 5-11 overall and 1-2 in the WIAC, will next play in the Simpson College Tournament. Their first match begins at 3p.m. on Saturday Sep. 28th.

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele-4.JPG Krista Russell
Kelsey Scheele Emily Hagen

Volleyball Team Loses WIAC Match to UWSP

Sept. 22, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team lost a WIAC match to UW-Stevens Point Saturday afternoon at the Karges Center.

UWSP won the first two games, 30-27 and 30-18. The Falcons won the third game, 30-27, before UWSP won the the fourth game, 30-25.

Kelsey Scheele led the Falcons with 21 kills. Gina DeRosa was the only other Falcon to reach double digits in kills - she finished with 11. Becky Ponick led UWRF with 41 assists. Mandy McKenzie led the Falcons with 13 digs while Scheele and Ponick each had 10. Margret Rubis, who had five kills, had two block assists and DeRosa had one solo and one block assist.

The team's best hitting game was the third when they had 18 kills and a .316 hitting percentage. The Falcons had 59 kills (.168) and UWSP had 50 (.167).

The Falcons, now 5-10 overall and 1-1 in the WIAC, will next play at Eau Claire on Wednesday with action starting at 7 p.m.

Box Score

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele-4.JPG Krista Russell
Kelsey Scheele Gina DeRosa

Volleyball Team Opens WIAC Season With Win

Sept. 19, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team opened its WIAC season with a three games to one win at UW-Superior on Wednesday night.

The Falcons lost the first game, 30-22, but came back to win the next three, 30-21, 31-29, 34-32.

Kelsey Scheele led the offense with 23 kills. She also played good defense finishing with 19 digs. Krista Russell had 15 kills and she was a defensive leader with 20 digs. Mandy McKenzie also had 20 digs and she had three aces. Margret Rubis finished with 11 kills and she led the Falcons with four aces. Emily Hagen led the team with 48 assists and she had 18 digs. Drew Hample finished with 16 digs. Gina DeRosa led the Falcons with one solo block and three block assists and she had 10 kills.

The Falcons have won four of their last five matches and are now 5-9 overall and 1-0 in the WIAC. UWRF will host UW-Stevens Point on Saturday in another WIAC match. Action starts at noon at the Karges Center.

Box Score

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele-4.JPG Krista Russell
Kelsey Scheele Krista Russell

Volleyball Team Goes 3 -1 in Ripon Tournament

Sept. 15, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team won three out of four matches at the Ripon Invitational Tournament this past weekend.

River Falls’ first victory was a three game sweep of Carroll. Margret Rubis led the offence with eight kills, and four serving aces. Gina DeRosa, and Kelsey Scheele added eight kills apiece. Becky Ponic also had four serving aces. Defensive standouts were Drew Hample, with 23 digs, Scheele with 14 digs and two blocking assists, and Krista Russell and Emily Hagen each contributed 10 digs.

UWRF defeated Martin Luther for their second win of the tournament in three games. Ashley Wheeler led the Falcon with 12 kills and 14 digs. Scheele chipped in eight kills of her own in addition to six digs and two blocking assists. Rubis knocked down seven kills and one dig, solo block and block assist. Ponic had a team high of five serving aces.

The Falcons first and only loss of the tournament came against St. Norberts after five games. Scheele led the team in kills with 26, and added 15 digs. DeRosa had 14 kills, five digs, two solo blocks and three blocking assists. Hample had a team high of 25 digs, and added two aces. Rubis had four aces, seven kills, one solo block and block assist.

River Falls’ third win of the tournament was against hosting Ripon College, in a three game decision. Once again Scheele led the charge with 15 kills, 10 digs and one block assist. Hample had two aces and 17 digs. Hagen added three aces and eight digs. Russell had thee aces as well in addition to seven digs and one solo block. DeRosa had five kills, one solo and two assisted blocks.

Scheele was named to the All-Tournament team for the second time this season.

The Falcons will begin conference play against UW-Superior on Tuesday Sep. 14th at 7pm.

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele-4.JPG Drew Hample
Kelsey Scheele Drew Hample

Volleyball Team Wins One of Three at Platteville Tourney

Sept. 12, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team won one of three matches at the Platteville Tournament last weekend.

Kelsey Scheele was named to the All-Tournament team.

UWRF opened with a three games to two loss to Coe. The Falcons won the first and third game and lost the five game, 15-12. Scheele led the Falcons with 16 kills and she had 14 digs. Gina DeRosa added eight kills and led the team with two solo and six block assists. Margret Rubis, who had six kills, had two solo and four block assists. Mandy McKenzie led the team with 20 digs. Becky Ponick led the team with 38 assists and she had 13 digs. Emily Hagen and Courtney Schroeder each had 14 digs and two aces.

The Falcons came back to beat Edgewood, three games to none. Scheele again led the attack with 12 kills. She had two aces and nine digs. Hagen also had nine digs. DeRosa led the team with four block assists and Ashley Wheeler had three block assists and five kills. Ponick had 31 assists.

On Saturday the Falcons opened with a three games to one loss to Monmouth. The Falcons won the first game. Scheele had 16 kills and 11 digs. Andria Vetsch had nine kills. Schroeder had 13 kills and Drew Hample had 11. Ponick led UWRF with 36 assists and two aces and she had 10 digs.

Concordia won thee games to beat the Falcons in the team's final match. Scheele had 11 kills and DeRosa had eight. Vetsch had one solo block and two block assists. Hagen led the team with 17 digs and two aces. Ponick finished with a team high 24 assists.

The Falcons will next play in the Ripon Tournament this weekend. On Friday the Falcons play Carroll at 4 p.m. and Martin Luther at 8 p.m. On Saturday the Falcons face St. Norbert at 10 a.m. and Ripon at noon.

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele-4.JPG Emily Hagen-3.JPG
Kelsey Scheele Emily Hagen

Volleyball Team Loses at Bethel

Sept. 5, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team lost in three games at Bethel on Wednesday night.

The Royals won, 30-17, 31-29 and 30-19.

The Falcons hit just .025 in the three games. Margret Rubis and Gina DeRosa led the Falcons with six kills each. DeRosa played good defense at the net and led the team with one solo and four block assists. Kelsey Scheele, who had four kills, led the Falcons with 12 digs. Krista Russell, who finished with five kills, had 10 digs. Mandy McKenzie had nine digs and led UWRF witih two aces. Becky Ponick finished with 28 assists.

The Falcons, now 0-5 overall, will next play at the Platteville Tournament on Friday and Saturday. On Friday the Falcons face Coe at 6 p.m. and Edgewood at 8 p.m.

2007 Schedule

Margret Rubis Gina DeRosa
Margret Rubis Gina DeRosa

Volleyball Team Loses To Stout, Gustavus Adolphus at UWEC Tourney

Sept. 1, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team lost two more matches on Saturday at the UW-Eau Claire Tournament.

Falcon outside hitter Kelsey Scheele was named to the eight-player all-tournament team. In the four matches she had 48 kills and 76 digs.

UWRF opened with a three games to none loss to Stout. UWS won, 32-30, 30-23, 30-23. The Falcons finished with a loss to Gustavus Adolphus, 30-21, 33-31 and 30-21.

Against Stout Scheele led the team with 14 kills and 22 digs. Mandy McKenzie had 20 digs and two aces. Emily Hagen had 14 digs and two aces. Becky Ponick led UWRF with 33 assists. Gina DeRosa, who had eight kills, had two block assists. Margret Rubis and Amy Weber also had two block assists.

Against Gustavus Scheele led the Falcons with 10 kills and she had 30 digs. DeRosa finished with 11 kills and had four block assists. McKenzie had another strong defensive match with 20 digs. Weber, who had seven kills, had 10 digs. Ponick finished with 38 assists.

After committing 20 service errors and 25 reception errors on Friday, the Falcons had only 10 service errors and eight reception errors on Saturday.

The Falcons, now 0-4 overall, will play at Bethel on Wednesday with action starting at 7 p.m.

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele Mandy McKenzie
Kelsey Scheele Mandy McKenzie

Volleyball Team Losses Twice at UWEC Tourney

Aug. 31, 2007

The Falcon volleyball team lost twice at the UW-Eau Claire Tournament on Friday night.

The Falcons opened with a three games to one loss to Hamline. UWRF won the first game, 31-29, but the Pipers won the next three, 30-23, 30-27, 30-21. Kelsey Scheele led the Falcon offensive attack with 17 kills. She had a strong defensive game too with 15 digs. Gina DeRosa had 10 kills and four block assists. Andria Vetsch added eight kills. Emily Hagen led the team with 37 assists. She also led UWRF with four aces and she had 11 digs. Mandy McKenzie led the Falcons with 18 digs and Courtney Schroeder had 16 digs. The Falcons had 13 service errors and 13 reception errors.

UWRF lost to Eau Claire in three games, 30-25, 30-22 and 30-22. Scheele led the Falcons with seven kills and 19 digs. DeRosa had six kills and two block assists. Becky Ponick had 10 assists and 13 digs and Hagen had nine assists. UWRF had seven service errors and 12 reception errors.

Saturday the Falcons will play Stout at noon and Gustavus Adolphus at 2 p.m. Stout enters tomorrow's match with a 1-1 record and Gustavus is 2-0.

2007 Schedule

Kelsey Scheele Emily Hagen
Kelsey Scheele Emily Hagen

Volleyball Team Opens Season
at UWEC Tourney


The Falcon volleyball team will have some new players on the court this year in key roles, but the team's goals will remain the same.

"Our goals are always the same," said Falcon Coach Patti Ford. "We want to compete at the highest level and be one of the top teams in the WIAC."

To do that the Falcons will need several players to fill in at several positions. UWRF lost four starters to graduation and that will give some new players an opportunity to shine.

"This is a new opportunity for this team to set its own tone and mark on Falcon volleyball," said Ford. "We're poised to do some good things and it will be an exciting year because of the unknowns. Our leadership and energy is high and that is a key."

Ford said that juniors Drew Hample and Nina Cooper are just two Falcons who are doing a great job of leading the relatively young team that has just two seniors on the roster. "Really all of our upperclassmen are good leaders and have a strong work ethic and that will help our new players understand Falcon volleyball. As we start to put the pieces together they all will be called upon to lead. We need to go to our experienced players who have been there and seen how things are done," said Ford.

Two sophomores after starting for the Falcons in 2006. Middle hitter Gina DeRosa and outside hitter Kelsey Scheele are back for a second season with some very good experience, according to Ford. DeRosa had 222 kills and Scheele had 163. DeRosa led the Falcons with 130 blocks and Scheele was third on the team with 467 digs.

Senior Krista Russell, sophomore Andria Vetsch and freshman Ashley Wheeler will man the right side hitting spot. Russell had 55 kills in 2006.

Freshman Becca Ponick looks to take over the important setter's position. "She is a good setter and is capable of running our offense," said Ford.

Sophomore Becca Troop and freshman Mandy McKenzie are the top players at libero. "Both are solid and tough," said Ford.

Outside hitter Courtney Schroeder and setter Emily Hagen are two other returnees who will play significant roles with the Falcons this fall. Schroeder played in 75 games last year and Hagen in 51.  

Freshmen Margret Rubis, Rebecca Lippert and Elizabeth Braun have the abilities to help the Falcons as middle hitters.

Ford believes that Whitewater and Oshkosh are the top two teams in the WIAC at this stage. "The league will be as tough as usual. We want to be able to compete for the WIAC title and want to be at our best when playing the conference opponents. Our schedule will help prepare us for WIAC play. There's not a lot of difference between any of the teams in the WIAC right now."

Losing a big group of players to graduation is nothing new to the Falcons and Ford doesn't see it as a hurdle. "This is a great opportunity for us. We've lost big groups of graduating seniors before and we have still continued on with success."

The Falcons open their season this weekend at the Eau Claire tournament. They face Hamline and Eau Claire on Friday and Stout and Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday.

2007 Schedule

 
Patti Ford  

 

 


 

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