Volleyball Stories

The Falcon volleyball team lost to UW-La Crosse, three games to none, in the NCAA Div. III Midwest Regional finals held Saturday night in La Crosse.

Logan Kiesch and Krystle Brune each finished with 10 kills. Sarah Halverson recorded the team's only two aces. Erin Oberholtzer led the Falcons with 32 assists. Jennifer Bruan led the Falcons with 31 digs. Kiesch had 21 and Halverson 16. Kristen Brandt recorded three block assists. The Falcons hit only .089 in the three games and finished with four total team blocks.

The Falcon volleyball team defeated UW-Whitewater on Friday, three gmes to one, to advanced to the finals of the NCAA Div. III Midwest Regional being held at UW-La Crosse.

The Falcons beat the Warhawks, 30-22, 27-30, 30-23, 30-27. Krystle Brune led the Falcon offensive attack with 15 kills. Nina Petersen and Melissa Tvrdik each had 10 kills. Erin Oberholtzer led the Falcons with 42 assists. Melissa Jude led the Falcons with three aces. The Falcons had six players with 10 or more digs. They were led by Jude, Molly Schock and Jennifer Braun with 18 each. Oberholtzer had 17 digs, Sarah Halverson 16 and Kristen Brandt 10. Tvrdik led the Falcons with seven block assists. Brandt had one solo block and three block assists and Oberholtzer had four block assists.

The Falcons, ranked 8th in the last AVCA poll, will bring their 35-5 overall record into the title match against the winner of the La Crosse - Con.-Moorhead winner. Action starts at 7 p.m. at the Mitchell Hall at UW-La Crosse.

The Falcons are the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament despite failing to capture an automatic bid when they lost the WIAC championship game to UW-La Crosse Saturday afternoon at Karges Center.

The eighth-ranked Falcons get a first-round bye before facing the winner of UW-Whitewater and Lakeland on Friday. The UW-La Crosse Eagles will host the regional and await the winner of Concordia-Moorhead and Elmhurst. The regional final will take place Saturday at La Crosse. The winner will advance to the Elite Eight at a date and site to be determined.

The Falcon volleyball team lost to UW-La Crosse in the WIAC tournament championship game, 30-21, 30,17, 30-28. The loss brings UW-RF’s record to 34-5. The Eagles earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with the win. The Falcons now await a possible at-large bid or their season is over.

Krystle Brune slammed 16 kills to lead the Falcons. Melissa Tvrdik had 10. Erin Oberholtzer dished out 35 assists. Molly Schock and Logan Kiesch shared most of the digging duties with 15 and 14 digs respectively.

The eighth-ranked Falcons could play in the NCAA tournament, which begins Thursday at sites around the country, if they receive an at-large bid.

The Falcon volleyball ended UW-Oshkosh's season with a 30-17, 26-30, 30-19, 30-19 win in the semi-finals of the WIAC tournament Friday night at Karges Center. The win advances the Falcons to the championship game against regular season co-champ UW-La Crosse.

Logan Kiesch led the Falcons with 15 kills and three service aces. Nina Petersen slammed 11 kills and collected five block assists. Erin Oberholtzer paced the team with 38 assists and 11 digs. Jen Braun led the team with 13 digs.

The Falcons, now 34-4 overall and 7-1 in the WIAC, play UW-La Crosse for the WIAC tournament championship and for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The top-seeded Falcon volleyball team disposed of eighth-seeded UW-Superior, 30-24, 30-20, 30-19, in the first round of the WIAC postseason tournment Tuesday night at Karges Center. The UW-RF win advances the Falcons to the semi-finals and ends the Yellowjackets' season.

Melissa Tvrdik led the team in kills with 12 and four total blocks. Krystle Brune and Logan Kiesch had nine kills each. Erin Oberholtzer paced the Falcon hitters with 35 assists. Molly Schock contributed on the defense with 10 digs. She also added three service aces.

The Falcons, now 33-4 overall and 7-1 in the WIAC,play the winner of UW-Eau Claire and UW-Oshkosh Friday at Karges Center at 7 p.m. to determine which team will play for the conference championship on Saturday.

The Falcon volleyball won both games it played Saturday at the Bob & Steve's BP Amoco Challenge at Karges Center. The Falcons dismantled Gordon, 30-12, 30-18, 30-24, before avenging a WIAC loss to Eau Claire with a four-game win, 24-30, 30-26, 30-23, 30-25.

The Falcons spread the ball around and both setters were able to find many scorers against Gordon. Four Falcon hitters had 10 kills, including Melissa Jude. Jude recorded her breakout performance of the season leading the team in kills with 10 and digs with eight. Erin Oberholtzer and Amy Lundberg split the setting duties. Oberholtzer had 24 assists while Lundberg registered 18. Krystle Brune, Nina Petersen and Melissa Tvrdik had 10 kills each.

UW-RF avenged its only WIAC loss of the season against Eau Claire. Jude turned in another solid performance with 11 kills and 20 digs. Brune led the Falcons with 16 kills. Tvrdik and Petersen registered 11 and 10 kills respectively. Jen Braun led the Falcons in digs with 24 while Oberholtzer led the Falcons in assists with 48. Kristin Brandt showed her presence at the middle hitter position with four total blocks.

The Falcons, now 32-4 overall and 7-1 in the WIAC, begin WIAC postseason play against UW-Superior Nov. 4 at Karges Center. Action starts at 7 p.m.

The Falcon volleyball team opened the Bob & Steve's BP Amoco Challenge with a 3-2 loss to Bethel, but bounced back with a 3-0 win against UW-Platteville Friday night at Karges Center. The Falcons fell to Bethel, 27-30, 30-14, 28--30, 30-26, 15-17, before putting away Platteville 30-27, 30-20, 30-26.

In five games against Bethel, Krystle Brune came through with her best hitting performance of the season with 24 kills. Jen Braun had her best defensive performance of the season with 30 digs. Nina Petersen had 16 kills and Melissa Tvrdik had 13 kills to help the Falcons on offense. Erin Oberholtzer kept things moving with 47 assists.

Against Platteville, Brune led the team with 15 kills, while Tvrdik and Kiesch had 11 each. Oberholtzer collected 43 assists and four service aces. Braun led the Falcons in digs again with 12.

The Falcons, now 30-4 overall and 7-1 in the WIAC, will face Gordon at 10 a.m. Saturday and UW-Eau Claire at 2 p.m. Saturday at Karges Center.

The Falcon volleyball team won both matches they played at the UW-Whitewater Tournament Saturday.

The Falcons beat St. Norbert, 30-18, 30-23, 21-30, 30-19, and Central, 23-30, 13-30, 30-21, 30-21, 15-13. With the win against Central, the Falcons avenged their first loss of the season.

Against St. Norbert, Krystle Brune turned in the best performance of the season the day after earning the Falcon career kills record. The senior outside hitter slammed 21 kills in the four-game match. Logan Kiesch added 16 kills and 17 digs. Melissa Tvrdik had 14 kills and nine total blocks. Erin Oberholtzer collected 47 assists and 17 digs. Molly Schock also had 17 digs.

In the five-game marathon against Central, Tvrdik led the team with 16 kills while Brune had 15. Kiesch and Nina Petersen registered 13 each. Oberholtzer paced the team with 56 assists and added 16 digs. Senior libero Jen Braun led the team with 28 digs. Kiesch came up big with three service aces and 17 digs to go with her 13 kills.

The Falcons, now 29-3 overall and 7-1 in the WIAC, will hold the Bob & Steve's BP Amoco UW-River Falls Challenge Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Karges Center. The Falcons will face Bethel and Platteville on Friday and Gordon and UW-Eau Claire on Saturday.

The Falcon volleyball team won both matches they played at the UW-Whitewater Tournament Friday and outside hitter Krystle Brune broke the school career record in the process.

The Falcons beat St. Olaf, 30-19, 21-30, 30-17, 30-26 and Lakeland, 28-30, 30-26, 30-26, 30-20. The Falcons have now won nine straight matches.

In the two matches, Brune recorded 31 kills for the day giving her 1,548 in her career. Melissa Mattson (1997-2000) held the record with 1,519.

Against St. Olaf, Brune led the Falcons with 16 kills while Nina Petersen had 14 and Melissa Tvrdik 11. Erin Oberholtzer had 39 assists and Amy Lundberg finished with 17. Oberholtzer and Kristin Brandt each had three aces. Logan Kiesch led the Falcons with 22 digs and Kat Krtnick had 21. Tvrdik had two solo blocks and five block assists. Brune and Brandt each had four block assists.

In the win over Lakeland, Petersen led the Falcons with 17 kills and Brune finished with 15. Oberholtzer had 43 assists and Molly Schock led the Falcons with four aces. Jen Braun led UW-RF with 24 digs and Kiesch added 19. Brune led the Falcons with five block assists.

The Falcons, now 27-3 overall and 7-1 in the WIAC, face St. Norbert at noon and Central at 2 p.m. in the second day of the tourney in Whitewater.

The Falcon volleyball team won its final conference match Wednesday against UW-Stout at Karges Center, 30-17, 30-20, 28-30, 30-16. The win pulls UW-RF into a tie with La Crosse for the conference co-championship and gives the Falcons home court advantage throughout the WIAC tournament by virtue of a head-to-head win against La Crosse.

Melissa Tvrdik led the Falcons with 19 kills and three service aces. Krystle Brune slammed 17 kills while Logan Kiesch had 12. Erin Oberholtzer paced the Falcons with 39 assists. Senior libero Jen Braun led the team in digs with 22. Tvrdik and Molly Schock each had 16 digs. Tvrdik, Brune and Kristin Brandt each recorded four total blocks and Nina Petersen registered three.

The seventh-ranked Falcons, now 25-3 overall and 7-1 in the WIAC, travel to Whitewater for a tournament Friday and Saturday. They will face St. Olaf, Lakeland, St. Norbert and Central during the weekend invitational.

The Falcon volleyball team won an important WIAC match at UW-La Crosse Saturday afternoon.

The Falcons won in three straight games, 30-24, 37-35, 30-25. The win puts the Falcons in a virtual tie with La Crosse for first place in the WIAC standings. UWL ends their conference schedule with a 7-1 record. The Falcons are now 6-1 and play UW-Stout on Wednesday in the Karges Center. A win by the Falcons would tie them with La Crosse for first place and the Falcons would get home court advantage in the league playoffs because they defeated La Crosse head-to-head.

Krystle Brune led the Falcons wtih 15 kills. She had one solo block and three block assists. Kristen Brandt added 10 kills and finished with a .529 hitting percentage. She had three aces adn four block assists. Melissa Tvrdik finished with 13 kills. She had three aces. Erin Oberholtzer led the team with 53 assists. Logan Kiesch, who had eight kills, led the Falcons with 17 digs. Katheryn Krtnick had 13 digs.

The Falcons, now 24-3 overall and 6-1 in the WIAC, host Stout on Wednesday with action starting at 7 p.m.

The Falcon volleyball team topped UW-Platteville, three games to one, Friday night in Platteville.

The Falcons won the first game, 30-25, but dropped the second, 30-24. They came back to win the last two games, 30-20 and 30-15.

Melissa Tvrdik led the Falcons with 17 kills and a .516 hitting percentage. She had three service aces and six block assists. Logan Kiesch added 16 kills, 13 digs and three block assists. Krystle Brune also had 16 kills and two block assists. Erin Oberholtzer led the Falcons with 59 assists. She had two aces and 12 digs. Molly Schock led the Falcons with 19 digs. Sarah Halverson had 12.

The Falcons, now 23-3 overall and 5-1 in the WIAC, play at UW-La Crosse on Saturday. Action starts at 1 p.m. UWL entered the weekend in first place in the WIAC with a 6-0 record.

The fifth-ranked Falcons knocked off Monmouth and Augustana Saturday at the Central Invitational.They took out Monmouth, 29-31, 30-15, 30-18, 30-23 and then handled Augustana, 30-24, 30-18, 30-13.The wins raise UW-RF’s record to 22-3 overall.

Against Monmouth, Melissa Tvrdik was the center of attention. The All-American middle hitter led the Falcons with 17 big kills and no hitting errors. She posted a .566 hitting percentage in the match and hit her 1,000th career kill. The senior also contributed five blocks. Right side hitter Nina Petersen helped out by slamming 12 kills. Erin Oberholtzer paced the team with 33 assists and five service aces. Kat Krtnick picked up 17 digs.

Against Augustana, Petersen killed 14 more and Krystle Brune slammed 11 kills of her own. Oberholtzer had 28 more assists and five more service aces. Petersen and Tvrdik shared the main blocking duties, registering one solo and four block assists each.

The Falcons next play two important WIAC matches. Friday the team will be at Platteville and Saturday at La Crosse.

The fifth-ranked Falcons beat Nebraska-Wesleyan in five games and swept Dubuque at the Central Invitational Friday. They edged Nebraska-Wesleyan, 27-30, 30-21, 28-30, 30-28, 15-11. UW-RF took out Dubuque, 33-31, 30-22, 30-19. The wins raise UW-RF’s record to 20-3 overall.

Against Nebraska-Wesleyan, Melissa Tvrdik led the Falcons with 16 kills and five service aces. Krystle Brune slammed 14 kills. Erin Oberholtzer paced the team with 56 assists. Kat Krtnick picked up 34 digs. Kristin Brandt had 1 block solo and six block assists in the match.

Against Dubuque, Tvrdik continued her dominance with 12 kills and six total blocks. Brune had another strong showing with 12 kills herself. Amy Lundberg led the team in assists with 25 and service aces three service aces. Jen Braun collected 14 digs.

The Falcons continue play at the Central Invitational tomorrow with matches against Monmouth at12:30 p.m. and Augustana at 3 p.m..

The fifth-ranked Falcons fell to UW-Eau Claire, 31-33, 30-21, 30-28, 30-28,on the road Wednesday night. The loss brings UW-RF’s record to 18-3 overall and 4-1 in the WIAC. UW-RF will now drop out of first place in the conference as La Crosse remains the only team unbeaten in WIAC play.

In the loss, Logan Kiesch led the team in kills with 12 and service aces with three. Kiesch was also second in digs with 17. Melissa Tvrdik and Nina Petersen had 11 kills each. Erin Oberholtzer added 15 digs along with her team-high 40 assists. Kristin Brandt collected five block assists while Petersen had four. Kat Krtnick led the team in digs with 21.

The Falcons will travel to Central College in Iowa for a tournament on Friday and Saturday. Though they are visiting Central, a team that beat them at Karges Center, they are not scheduled to play each other this weekend.

The fifth-ranked Falcons defeated UW-Stevens Point, 30-15, 30-17, 30-22, at Karges Center Saturday afternoon for the team’s eighth straight victory. The win raises UW-RF’s record to 18-2 overall and 4-0 in the WIAC.

All-American middle hitter Melissa Tvrdik led the team with 11 kills. Outside hitter Logan Kiesch had eight kills. Erin Oberholtzer collected 26 assists. Oberholtzer has registered more than 20 assists in 18 matches this season. Freshman libero Kat Krtnick led the team in digs with 18 while Kiesch added 11. The Falcons defense kept the Pointers’ hitting percentages under .120 in all three games.

Next on the schedule for the Falcons is a WIAC match Wednesday at Eau Claire. Action starts at 7 p.m.
The Falcons and Blugolds met in a tightly contested match last weekend at a tournament in Eau Claire. Neither team won any game by more than three points. UW-RF edged the Blugolds in three of the four games.

The No. 5 Falcons raised their record WIAC record to 3-0 by defeating Superior in three straight games. The Falcons downed the Yellowjackets 30-17, 30-13, 30-22.

Melissa Tvrdik and Nina Petersen took charge of the killing duties and registered 10 kills each. Tvrdik also had three block assists while Petersen had two. Four other Falcons had two block assists in the match. Erin Oberholtzer paced the team with 25 assists and Amy Lundberg contributed 10. Logan Kiesch and Molly Schock had nine digs each. Kiesch also helped the team with four service aces.

The win raises the Falcons' overall record to 17-2 as the Falcons sit at No. 5 in the AVCA poll for the second consecutive week.

The No. 5 Falcons raised their record to 16-2 and won the Eau Claire Invitational by beating Stout and Eau Claire Saturday. The Falcons downed the Blue Devils 25-30, 30-23, 30-21, 30-19 and knocked off the Blugolds 32-30, 27-30, 31-29, 30-27.

Against Stout, Krystle Brune slammed 19 kills. Nina Petersen and Logan Kiesch added 12 and 11 respectively. Erin Oberholtzer paced the team with 32 assists and Amy Lundberg added 20. Kat Krtnick led the team with 20 digs. Kiesch contributed 18 digs and Jen Braun had 17. Kristin Brandt helped the team with four service aces and three block assists.

Against the host school, Brune tallied 15 more kills. Petersen had 13 kills. Kiesch had 11. Melissa Tvrdik also made an impact with 10 kills and four block assists. Erin Oberholtzer led the team in both assists and digs. She had 35 assists and 19 digs. Krtnick added 13 digs and Kiesch had 12. Kiesch also had four big service aces, but gave away points on four service errors.

Brune and Tvrdik both made the All-Tournament Team. Both are also progress toward milestones. Brune now has 1,401 career kills; only 118 away from the school record. Tvrdik is only 67 kills away from reaching her 1,000th career kill.

The No. 5 Falcons raised their record to 14-2 by clobbering Northland and Superior at the Eau Claire Invitational Friday. UW-RF won all six games it played by nine or more points. The Falcons downed Northland 30-12, 30-15, 30-21. They dismantled Superior 30-15, 30-17, 30-18.

Against Northland, Melissa Tvrdik led the way with 12 kills and an unreal .611 hitting percentage. Amy Lundberg and Erin Oberholtzer shared the setting duties. Lundberg had 20 assists and Oberholtzer had 12. They also served three aces each. Kat Krtnick contributed 12 digs. Several of the team's younger players saw action in the match as well. Freshman Katie Thompson used her limited time well by registering five kills, five digs and five service aces.

Against Superior, Tvrdik took a back seat to Krystle Brune. Brune led the team with 17 kills and passed Anna Schmidt for second place on the Falcon career kills list. She is now 152 kills behind Melissa Mattson, who holds the record with 1,519 career kills. Oberholtzer had 26 assists. Molly Schock led the team with 13 digs while Logan Kiesch and Jen Braun had 10 each. The Yellowjackets had a tought time getting the ball over the net because of Nina Petersen and Kristin Brandt. Petersen had eight total blocks while Brandt had seven.

The Falcons continue play at the Eau Claire Invitational Saturday at 11:30 a.m. against Stout and at 3:30 p.m. against Eau Claire.

The Falcons jumped from No. 10 to No. 5 in the Sept. 24 AVCA volleyball coaches poll.

The Falcons moved up after beating No. 20 UW-Oshkosh, 3-1, and No. 3 UW-Whitewater, 3-2 last weekend. UWRF is 12-2 overall and 2-0 in WIAC play. The fifth spot is the highest ranking for the Falcons this year. UWRF was 10th the past two weeks.

Whitewater dropped from third to sixth in the poll. UW-La Crosse stayed at No. 18 and Oshkosh remained at No. 20. UW-Stout received votes.

The Falcons travel to Eau Claire this weekend and will play four matches over the two days. Friday the Falcons play Northland at 4 p.m. and UW-Supperior at 8 p.m. Saturday the Falcons face Stout at 11:30 a.m. and UW-Eau Claire at 3:30 p.m. The Falcons have not faced any of the teams yet this year.

The 10th-ranked Falcons defeated third-ranked UW-Whitewater, 30-22, 30-19, 21-30, 23-30, 15-9, to raise their conference record to 2-0. Their overall record jumps to 12-2. The loss drops the defending national champion Warhawks to 1-1 in the WIAC and 8-3 overall.

In the five-game match, Krystle Brune killed 14 and Nina Petersen killed 10. Erin Oberholtzer paced the Falcons with 46 assists. Libero Kat Krtnick led the team in digs with 27. Logan Kiesch added 24. Brune needs only one kill to tie Anna Schmidt for second on the Falcon career kill list (1,359).

The Falcons travel to Eau Claire next weekend for an Invitational. Action starts at 4 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday.

The Falcons defeated UW-Oshkosh, 20-30, 30-23, 30-13, 31-29, in their first conference action this year. The win, at Karges Center, raises UW-RF's overall record to 11-2.

Logan Kiesch and Krystle Brune registered 13 kills each to lead the team. Erin Oberholtzer collected 41 assists. Sarah Halverson came up with 19 digs while Oberholtzer had 16.

The Falcons face the defending NCAA Div. III national champions, UW-Whitewater, Saturday at noon. The Falcons are ranked 10th in the AVCA poll while the Warhawks are third.

The Falcons defeated Illinois Wesleyan, 30-22, 30-18, 30-25, in their first match of the day. Then they fell to Carthage, 30-17, 24-30, 30-28, 30-24.

Against Illinois Wesleyan, freshman outside hitter Kat Krtnick led the team with 11 kills and added 10 digs, earning her second double-double of the tournament. Right side hitter Nina Petersen killed nine. Erin Oberholtzer paced the team with 32 assists and 12 digs. Jen Braun and Sarah Halverson shared the digging duty with 14 and 13 respectively. Petersen and Melissa Tvrdik came up with several big blocks during the match. Tvrdik had one solo and five block assists while Petersen had three solo and four block assists.

In four games against Carthage, Tvrdik had 17 kills and Petersen had 16. Krtnick led the team in digs with 22 while Halverson added 19. Erin Oberholtzer tallied 45 assists in the loss.

The 10th-ranked Falcons begin conference play at Karges Center against 23rd-ranked Oshkosh Friday at 7 p.m. and third-ranked Whitewater Saturday at noon.

The Falcons defeated Lake Forest, 36-34, 30-11, 30-17, in their first match of the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational. Then they defeated Millikin, 30-25, 30-20, 30-18, to up their record to 9-1.

Against Lake Forest, freshman outside hitter Kat Krtnick led the team with 12 kills and added two service aces and 13 digs. Another outside hitter, Krystle Brune, killed 11. Setter Erin Oberholtzer played a big role in the win with 42 assists. Sarah Halverson led the team in digs with 16, while Molly Schock added 14.

Brune led the UW-River Falls charge against Millikin by killing 17, while no other Falcon killed more than seven. Jen Braun led the team in digs with 21 while Krtnick and Halverson had 16 and 14 respectively. The large number of quality digs helped Oberholtzer register 35 assists.

The 10th-ranked Falcons continue their season tomorrow at the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational against the host school at 10 a.m. and Carthage at noon.

The Falcons defeated Lakeland,30-24, 30-19, 25-30, 30-26, in the first match of the day to earn head coach Patti Ford her 300th career win at UW-RF. Then they defeated sixth-ranked Elmhurst in a classic, 30-21, 30-16, 24-30, 17-30, 16-14.

Against Lakeland, Melissa Tvrdik and Logan Kiesch led the team with 13 kills each. Nina Petersen killed 12. Erin Oberholtzer led the team in both assists (31) and digs (18). Kiesch and Jen Braun added 13 digs each.

In five games against Elmhurst, Tvrdik had 18 kills. Krystle Brune and Nina Petersen killed 14 each. Oberholtzer tallied 55 assists. Five Falcons collected 15 or more digs, led by Sarah Halverson with 20.

Tvrdik and Brune were named to the All-Tournament Team with Tvrdik earning tournament MVP honors.

The 11th-ranked Falcons (7-1) continue their season Friday, Sept. 12, at the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational.

The Falcons defeated Aurora, 30-9, 30-14, 30-19, in the first match of the day. Then they defeated St. Norbert, 30-20, 30-20, 30-17.

Against Aurora, Melissa Tvrdik led the team with 16 kills. Logan Kiesch added 9 kills and 19 digs. Erin Oberholtzer registered 26 assists and Amy Lundberg added 14. Kat Krtnick collected 13 digs and Molly Schock added 11.

Against St. Norbert, Kiesch had 14 kills and 14 digs. Tvrdik, Krystle Brune and Nina Petersen killed 12, 11 and 10 respectively. Oberholtzer tallied 39 assists. Schock led the team with 17 digs and Sarah Halverson added 11.

The 11th-ranked Falcons (5-1) continue their season tomorrow at the Lakeland Invitaional against Lakeland and sixth-ranked Elmhurst.

The Falcons defeated Whitworth, 30-16, 30-26, 30-7, in the first match of the day. Then they lost a battle to Central, 21-30, 30-27, 30-28, 25-30, 16-14.

Against Whitworth, Melissa Tvrdik led the team with 11 kills. Krstle Brune and Logan Kiesch added 9 kills each. Erin Oberholtzer registered 32 assists while Sarah Halverson collected 13 digs. Freshman Katie Thompson came up big with five service aces.

Against Central, Brune had 19 kills. Nina Petersen and Tvrdik killed 15 and 14 respectively. Oberholtzer played a busy match with 62 assists and 22 digs. Jen Braun added another 21 digs. The Falcons were able to collect 13 service aces, but couldn't overcome their 46 errors.

The Falcons continue their season Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. at the Lakeland Invitaional.

The Falcons defeated Macalester, 30-21, 30-22 and 30-25, in the first match of the season. Then they beat St. Olaf, 30-23, 30-24, and 30-25.

Against St. Olaf, Melissa Tvrdik led the team with 15 kills and three aces. Krystle Brune added 10 kills and while Nina Petersen had seven. Erin Oberholtzer collected 36 assists and six digs. Freshman Kat Krtnick led the team in digs with eight.

The Falcons continue their tournament tomorrow at 10 a.m. against Whitworth and at 2 p.m. against Central.

The Falcons volleyball squad enters its 2003 season gunning for another conference championship and hopeful of earning a bid in the NCAA tournament. While the entire team is committed to these goals, some have dreams of winning it all.

"We don’t want to go to nationals just to make it," said Head Coach Patti Ford. "We want to go and make a stand. I think we have the talent and resources to do it."

Last season the Falcons were co-conference champs, but failed to capture the automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament after losing to UW-Whitewater in the WIAC tournament final. The NCAA tournament selection committee overlooked UW-River Falls despite its 31-8 overall record and the 13th spot in the AVCA Coaches Poll. The deflated Falcons could only watch as WIAC rival UW-Whitewater earned the national championship.

"It was very heartbreaking," said outside hitter Krystle Brune. "It just goes to show you that you can’t rely on anyone but yourselves to make it. That’s exactly what we learned from it."

Middle hitter Melissa Tvrdik will lead the charge this year as one of eight seniors on the squad. Tvrdik made second team AVCA All-American and first team All-WIAC. She led the team in kills (414) hitting percentage (.345), solo blocks (17), and total blocks (133). This year she will be in the hunt for her 1,000th career kill.
"Tvrdik will be one of the most dominant players in the nation this year," said Ford. "She is one of the best middles in Div. III. She’s fast, she’s smart and she works really hard in the middle."

Brune will continue her presence in the outside hitter position. The six-footer has started in that position all four years of her collegiate career and has compiled some impressive numbers along the way. She had 407 kills and led the team with 2.36 kills per game last season and has a chance to put her name in the Falcon record book this year. Brune needs only 318 kills to pass Melissa Mattson as the UW-River Falls career kills leader (1,519). She can also possibly set a career games played record if she appears in 129 games. "She’s been very solid in her position as a hitter," said Ford. "She hits a heavy ball and she’s big for an outside hitter so a lot of people can’t defend that."

Two senior setters have their eyes on a starting spot. Erin Oberholtzer and Amy Lundberg both have experience setting for the Falcons. Oberholtzer led the team with 1,204 assists last year. Lundberg, who was the team’s premiere setter in 2001, finished with 173 assists. "Amy and Erin will fight for the starting setter position," said Ford. "It will be a battle, but they will both get quality time. We could potentially move to a 6-2 offense to utilize both of them."

Other seniors who will make an impact this year include Jen Braun (DS/OH), Kristin Brandt (MH), Sarah Halverson (OH) and Molly Schock (OH/DS/S). Braun was named to the All-WIAC defensive team.
The one position the seniors don’t have covered is right hitter which belongs to junior Nina Petersen. She received All-WIAC honorable mention last season after registering 289 kills and establishing herself as a blocking threat. Sophomore Kiah Sagami and juniors Gina Anderson and Logan Kiesch will also make an impact filling in at all three hitter positions.

Six-foot freshman Andrea Geehan leads a talented group of new players. Geehan, who earned All-St. Paul City Conference honors all four years at Como Park (Minn.) Senior High School will challenge Brandt for playing time alongside Tvrdik in the middle hitter position. "Andrea will contribute right away," said Ford. "She is a physical specimen and she has a strong presence in the middle."

Kathryn Krtnick and twin sisters Molly and Katie Thompson will also make the traveling team as freshmen.
Krtnick participated on a Junior Olympics volleyball team with Geehan and enjoyed a successful career at Fridley (Minn.) High School. Ford said she could potentially start as a setter next year and play in key defensive situations this year.

The Thompson twins played together on a Junior Olympics team and at Forest Lake (Minn.) High School. Both young women proved to be solid outside hitters. They will add depth and hitting options for the Falcons this year and perhaps fight for starting positions as early as next year.

With a strong nucleus returning from last year and a handful of talented new players, this may be the year UW-River Falls makes a run in the national tournament. The team is anxious to get there, but Ford knows they must first take care of business in the conference. That means getting past UW-Whitewater and UW-Stout.

"Whitewater lost a couple significant players including a setter, but I’m sure they have another waiting in the wings" said Ford. "Stout will be returning most of their players. They played great last year and they had our number. There’s a good-natured rivalry between River Falls and Stout."

UW-Whitewater is ranked fourth in the preseason AVCA Coaches Poll. UW-River Falls is three behind at seventh. UW-Stout appears at 19th. The Falcons have also scheduled three other Top 25 teams: Central (13), Whitworth (17), and Bethel (24).

The Falcon Invitational will feature four teams that are ranked in the top 19, and another that received votes, in the Aug. 20 AVCA Div. III Coaches Top 25 Preseason poll.

The Falcons were seventh in the poll followed by Central, Iowa, College, 13th, Whitworth, Wash., College, 17th and UW-Stout, 19th (tie). St. Olaf, Minn., College received votes in the poll.

The Invitational will be held Aug. 29-30 at the Karges Center. Action starts at 4 p.m. on Aug. 29 and at 10 a.m. on Aug. 30.

Friday, Aug. 29

	Court 1	Court 2
4 p.m.	River Falls vs. Macalester	St. Olaf vs. Whitworth
6 p.m.	Macalester vs. Central	Stout vs. Whitworth
8 p.m.	River Falls vs. St. Olaf	Stout vs. Central

Saturday, Aug. 30

	Court 1	Court 2
10 a.m.	River Falls vs. Whitworth	St. Olaf vs. Macalester
Noon	Whitworth vs. Central	Stout vs. Macalester
2 p.m.	River Falls vs. Central	Stout vs. St. Olaf