Falcons Sweep Yellowjackets

Stephanie Bandelin led the Yellowjackets in kills and digs Wednesday at River Falls.

Box Score

River Falls 3, Yellowjackets 0

As the 2014 volleyball season winds down, the Yellowjackets were looking for something positive to take out of its final road match of the season, before they close out the schedule at home this weekend. Unfortunately, UW-River Falls had other plans that didn't include a Superior victory, as the Falcons swept the Yellowjackets 3-0 Wednesday night.

The Yellowjackets drew first blood and jumped out to an early lead in the first set, 5-2. They held off the Falcons and pulled ahead by four points, 15-11. River Falls came back, however, and tied the first set at 17. They moved ahead on the next point and built a 20-18 lead before the Yellowjackets called a timeout to regroup. The teams traded points the rest of the way and the Falcons grabbed the first set, finishing off the Yellowjackets 25-21.

River Falls carried that momentum from the late first-set run into the second and took a 5-2 lead early. The Yellowjackets kept the set close, but they were never able to pull even with the Falcons. The deficit stayed at or near four points for much of the set until the Yellowjackets began to crawl back in. A 6-4 run made it a two-point game at 24-22, but the Falcons called a late timeout and, coming out of the break, got the kill they needed to finish off the set 25-22 and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

The Falcons again jumped out early in the third set, but the Yellowjackets kept pace with them. As the set wore on, however, the Falcons began to pull away, and pushed the lead to five at 15-10. The Yellowjackets weren't about to quit, and just like in the second set they clawed their way back into things, closing the gap to two at 17-15. That rally was their last gasp on this night, though, as the Falcons went on an 8-3 run to pick up a 25-18 win in the third set and earn a straight-set win in the match.

Standout players for the Yellowjackets were Stephanie Bandelin (Esko, Minn./Esko) with 12 kills while Gabrielle Olson (Menomonie, Wis./Menomonie) and Leah Nightingale (Dayton, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) each had six kills. Keely Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko) had 23 assists and Bandelin led the team in digs with eight. As a team, the Yellowjackets had 28 digs.

UW-River Falls was led by a committee of players in all the main categories. Taylor Fertig and Brianna Muetzel had 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Raven Klein had a match-high 37 assists. On defense, the Falcons were led by Lexi Pingel with 12 digs, and Michaela Piechowski and Kadie Brooks had 10 digs each. The Falcons had six more kills than the Yellowjackets, 41-35, despite committing four more errors than UW-Superior (13-9). The Yellowjackets fell to 12-21 after tonight's loss.

After a tough night, it won't get any easier for UW-Superior. UW-Oshkosh will come to town on Halloween (Friday, October 31) and UW-Whitewater will follow the next day. Both games will be at home as UW-Superior will look to close out their on a high note. Friday's match is set for a 7 p.m. serve and Saturday's match will be at noon.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Keely Deadrick: S; 5' 10"; Senior

#7 Gabrielle Olson: MH; 5' 11"; Freshman

#16 Stephanie Bandelin: OH/MH; 6' 0"; Junior

#22 Leah Nightingale: OH; 5' 9"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#1 Keely Deadrick
: 5' 10"; Senior
: S

#7 Gabrielle Olson
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: MH

#16 Stephanie Bandelin
: 6' 0"; Junior
: OH/MH

#22 Leah Nightingale
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: OH