On Tuesday, Sept. 21, the River Falls High School volleyball team defeated the St. Croix Falls Saints 3-0 in a non-conference matchup. The victory for the Wildcats extended the team’s home win streak to 66 games, a record that dates back to September 2015.

The match against St. Croix Falls was controlled by the hometown Wildcats from the first serve. Sara Kealy’s Wildcats roster started the first set on a 9-2 run that consisted of points scored from being bigger and more athletic than the visiting Saints. The significant lead forced the Saints to call a timeout to regroup.

Unfortunately for Saints fans, the RFHS scoring dominance continued after the timeout and through the remainder of the set. The Wildcats led 16-5 over the Saints and then eventually 20-9. The Saints barely reached double digits by the time River Falls finished them off. The final score of the first set was 25-10 Wildcats, giving River Falls a 1-0 lead in the series.

The second set was more of the same for Kealy’s one-loss Wildcats roster. River Falls began the second set with a 13-6 lead. A majority of that scoring came from Morgan Kealy’s ability to understand floor positioning and dump the volleyball into weak spots on the defense. After the match, head coach Sara Kealy spoke about Morgan Kealy’s ability to control the floor and find weaknesses in the opponent.

“It’s gotten a lot better,” Sara Kealy said. “I think when you’re a coach’s kid, you see the game differently. Her vision in the last year has really developed. She doesn’t do stuff now because it’s easy, she does stuff because it’s open. It’s fun for me as a coach to be able to do different things with her on the floor. She’s a good player.”

Her ability to score cheap points, as well as the athletic ability of senior outside hitter Dani Lien, created offensive firepower that the Saints just weren’t capable of combating. River Falls took a 17-7 lead that forced another timeout by St. Croix Falls. The high-powered offensive attack continued, as the Wildcats won the second set 25-14 to take a 2-0 lead in the best of five series.

The third set was by far the best showing for the visiting St. Croix Falls Saints. They quickly got out to a 4-1 lead that momentarily quieted the rocking River Falls student section. Moments after falling behind, the Wildcats responded and scored seven straight points to take an 8-5 lead.

Both teams were putting up their best effort. When the Saints went on a small run the Wildcats would respond with one of their own. Near the end of the match, River Falls had a 19-17 lead. The Saints were able to score a couple more points, but the dominant RFHS offense prevailed. The Wildcats won the third set 25-19 to complete the sweep of the Saints. After the match, Sara Kealy spoke about the win.

“I thought it went really well,” Sara Kealy said after the 3-0 victory. “I think we took some of the things that we didn’t do well against those really good teams at the Charger Rally like the Germantown’s and the Oconomowoc’s, and we hammered those at practice. We worked on all of the things that we did well tonight – they applied it.”

For the Wildcats, it was win number 21 of the season and it was also the 66th straight win for River Falls at home. Under the direction of Sara Kealy, the Wildcats have been literally unbeatable at home for six consecutive years.

Kealy said after the match that her team has a few things to fix and improve before the playoffs begin in the coming weeks.

“We need to focus on fixing the things that are weaknesses of ours,” Kealy said. “That’s not just so we can play St. Croix Falls, it’s so we can play Oconomowoc again. I think there are six teams that could win state this year depending on who shows up and plays well, it’s pretty evenly matched. So, we need to continue to improve defense and keep learning how to hit shots and be effective.”

River Falls defeats Rice Lake in three sets

The Wildcats had a quick turnaround after the home game against the Saints. On Thursday, Sept. 23, River Falls traveled to Rice Lake for a Big Rivers Conference matchup with the Warriors. River Falls went into the matchup with a 21-1 record including a perfect 3-0 record in the conference.

The Wildcats continued their season of near excellence on the road against Rice Lake. In the first set against the Warriors, the Wildcats got out to an early lead that they held throughout the entire set. River Falls took a 1-0 advantage in the series with a 25-13 win in the first set.

The second set was the most competitive of the evening between the Wildcats and the Rice Lake Warriors. Both teams went on small scoring runs throughout the match. In the end, River Falls’ offense was too much to overcome and the Wildcats won 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

The third set was a comfortable seven-point victory for the Wildcats. They took care of business in the third set to win 25-18, completing the sweep of the Warriors on the road. The conference victory improved the Wildcats’ conference record to 4-0 for the season which gives River Falls sole possession of first place in the Big Rivers Conference standings.

The next game for River Falls is on Thursday, Sept. 30, at home against Eau Claire North. That match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

Morgan Kealy and Taylor Peterson jumping up and successfully blocking a St. Croix Falls kill attempt. Kealy, Peterson and the rest of the Wildcats defeated St. Croix Falls in three consecutive sets.Photo by Reagan Hoverman

RFHS volleyball senior Dani Lien serving the ball during the first set against the St. Croix Falls Saints on Tuesday, Sept. 21. Photo by ReaganHoverman