RIVER FALLS — The River Falls High School gym was stuffed Thursday, as local fans got their chance to watch the volleyball team’s rivalry match with Hudson. River Falls set a nice blockade at the net, threw down some violent hits and stayed cohesive to get a 3-1 win.

A year after losing all three matches against Hudson on the year including once in a playoff game, River Falls has gotten redemption with wins in both matches against each other on the year.

“Anything Hudson and River Falls is going to bring another level of intensity to it, especially because we just played them in football for Homecoming,” River Falls Head Coach Sara Kealy said.

The jitters were there, but quickly faded, with two of the team’s first three serves being turned back by the net. River Falls would do no more messing around in set one, going on a 14-3 run to take a 16-5 lead in a set they would go on to win 25-16.

Set two was the lone lost set for River Falls. Some great, systemic play had Hudson out front for much of the set. The teams clawed at each other until a big spike through two River Falls blockers got Hudson a 25-21 set win to tie the match 1-1.

“I was surprised with how we came out in the first set that our second set was as flat as it was,” Kealy said. “I think the girls were riding on emotion, and then they got over the hump in the first set, and so they had that let down.”

Hudson carried the momentum, dropping a serve right into no man’s land for an ace and a 4-0 start to set three. Thankfully for River Falls, the home crowd was backing their girls, boosting spirits to a 7-0 rally for a 7-4 lead. Hudson put some pressure on late in the set after fading, yet it was not enough in a 25-19 final.

Set four was the best yet. River Falls found itself with a 19-18 lead. The stage was set. The rallies were only getting more insane as the game went on. River Falls played one off the basketball backboard that is tethered to the ceiling, both teams were forced to send free balls back-and-forth and the crowd was stirring.

In a mic’d up timeout from the “River Falls SPORTS” YouTube broadcast, Kealy said it is all about keeping the composure.

“Take a deep breath, we’re finishing this here,” Kealy said.

Finish it they did, scoring twice on blocks at the net before junior Brooke Dusek crushed the finisher onto the Hudson side.

“We have spent so much time on it in practice, so I am thrilled as a coach to see it put into match play,” Kealy said of the blocking on the day.

It was the “Together, We Attack Cancer” fundraiser night, so a sea of pink shirts filled the bleachers and both fanbases were loud.

Hudson is a great team, so getting a convincing win like that could be just what the doctor ordered with the postseason looming.

“They’re a good team. If you give a good team an opportunity, they’re going to take advantage of it,” Kealy said. “Their defensive adjustments as the night went on were really good… but I think eventually we just had more offensive weapons than they did.”

Kealy credited Hudson libero Kaitlyn Drost’s abilities and understanding of the game for helping the Raider defense be so versatile and bringing solid adjustments to the table.

River Falls improved to 26-5 overall and 5-0 in conference. With sole possession of first place in the Big Rivers Conference, River Falls has Rice Lake and Eau Claire North remaining on the league schedule. The team also has one more tournament before the highly anticipated postseason.

Juniors Dusek and Amelie Pankonin have developed into special players as hitters, and surrounded by experienced players in the starting lineup, including senior setter Allie Larsen, senior libero Olivia Doerre and senior right side Addy Nesbitt, it has allowed the junior crushers to thrive.

“They’ve played since their freshmen year, but now they’re playing in that role of, ‘I’m the go-to,’ versus ‘I can fill in the gap for an older player,” Kealy said of Dusek and Pankonin.

All that is needed ahead of the postseason now is simply fine tuning for perfection.

“The aggression was really, really strong,” Larsen said. “We came out with a couple missed serves and then we fixed that… There were some shaky moments on defense, but I think in the end we all just decided to go for it and dig in and go for everything.”

Larsen said the big, aggressive swings they take make River Falls a tough team to match up against for anyone.

“I would say our culture is honestly one of the most important things on our team,” Larsen said. “Obviously, the skill and the depth that we have is important, but the culture, and the friendships that we make, and just the fact that we can all cheer each other on whether we’re on the bench or on the court is super important for competing.”