Volleyball, soccer teams will compete for state titles this week

The afternoon and evening hours of Saturday, Oct. 30, were special for River Falls High School students, staff, alumni and fans as both the RFHS boys soccer team and girls volleyball team earned state appearances after winning their respective sectional final matches throughout the day.

The first significant match of the day for River Falls was the boys’ soccer match which kicked off in the early afternoon hours Saturday. The boys traveled to compete against the #1 seed Pulaski. The low-scoring affair between the two teams ended in a 1-0 victory for the Wildcats, who went into the match as an underdog #3 seed.

The victory against Pulaski advanced RFHS boys soccer to the state tournament for the first time since the 2015 season. After the game was over, the boys celebrated, piled into the transportation and began traveling to Chippewa Falls to support the girls’ volleyball team in their effort to get back to state.

The girls’ volleyball game began at 7 p.m. against Chi-Hi in Chippewa Falls. At the start of the match, the River Falls crowd was sizable, but not full. Approximately halfway through the first set, the boys soccer team walked into the gym and filled the rest of the visiting student section, showing support for their fellow students and their athletic team.

Several hours later, River Falls finished the job against Chippewa Falls in five sets, winning what turned out to be the toughest test of the season for the Wildcats in a 3-2 series to punch another ticket to the state tournament.

The boys soccer team will compete in the Division 2 state semi-final against #1 seed Oregon on Thursday, Nov. 4, at the Kohler Engines Stadium at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee. That game is slated to begin at 4:30 p.m.

As for the girls volleyball team, they will compete in the 2021 State Girls Volleyball Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. Those matches will be played at the Resch Center in Green Bay.