MENOMONIE — The University of Wisconsin-Stout Polytechnic (14-10, 1-5 WIAC) won the opening set but fell to UW-River Falls (18-6, 3-3 WIAC) 3-1 Wednesday at Johnson Fieldhouse. The Blue Devils took the first set 27-25 before River Falls rallied to win the next three, 25-22, 25-19 and 25-23.
Stout claimed a back-and-forth opening set, 27-25. Brooke McCune recorded four kills before the teams reached an 8-8 tie, and the Blue Devils rallied after River Falls took an 11-8 lead. Stout moved ahead 22-20 on an Emma Barton kill and a McCune service ace. After River Falls reached set point at 24-23, Sloan Horgan answered with a kill to even the score. McCune added another kill, and after the Falcons tied the set at 25-25, a Brynn Hessel kill and a block by Phoebe Kim and Hessel secured the 27-25 win.
River Falls responded in the second set, jumping out to an 8-2 lead and extending the advantage to 10-3. Kills by Hessel, Kyra Giffen and McCune helped the Blue Devils close the gap to 14-10. A Hope Bushendorf kill and a Stephanie Petrbok service ace brought Stout within one at 18-17. McCune tied the set at 20-20, and the teams traded points to reach ties at 21-21 and 22-22. River Falls then scored the final three points to take the set 25-22.
Stout opened the third set with a 5-3 lead, but River Falls responded with a run to go ahead 12-7. The Blue Devils cut the deficit to 12-10 with kills from Horgan, McCune and Giffen, then pulled within one at 15-14 on a McCune kill. Another McCune kill made it 16-15, but River Falls scored six consecutive points, including three straight service aces by Emily Brenner, to build a 22-15 advantage. Horgan added a kill, and Hessel and Bushendorf teamed up for a block late in the set, but the Falcons closed out a 25-19 win.
The fourth set remained tight after River Falls built an 8-5 lead. Three consecutive Falcons errors helped Stout pull even at 8-8, and a Bushendorf kill tied the score at 9-9. Horgan gave the Blue Devils a 13-12 lead with a kill, but River Falls later turned a 14-14 tie into a 17-14 advantage. Stout fought back to tie the set at 18-18 and 19-19. After falling behind 22-19, the Blue Devils rallied behind a Bushendorf kill, a River Falls setting error and a McCune kill to pull within one. McCune then tied the set at 23-23, but a Stout service error and an attack error by Giffen gave River Falls the final two points and a 25-23 victory.
TOP PERFORMERS
Brooke McCune led the Blue Devils with 24 points, recording 23 kills on 48 attempts with three errors for a .417 hitting percentage. She also added 10 digs.
Kailey Kline recorded a team-high 15 digs.
Sloan Horgan finished with 11 kills, 12.5 points, six digs and three block assists.
Lainey Todd led Stout with 28 assists and added six digs.
Emma Barton contributed five kills, a team-high four blocks, including one solo, and 7.5 points.
UP NEXT
Stout travels to St. Paul, Minn., to face Hamline University at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at Hutton Arena.
