Falcons Fight in Two Five-Set Thrillers at No. 12 Stevens Point

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The CUW women's volleyball team posted a long day at the Pointer Invitational with a pair of five-set matches. The Falcons opened the day with a 3-2 victory over Wisconsin – River Falls and put up an incredible fight in a 2-3 loss to the host No. 12 Pointers.

The day opened with a 20-25, 26-16, 17-25, 25-16, 15-11 victory.

River Falls led the entire first set on Saturday morning and grew a seven-point lead on two occasions in the first set. A kill from freshman Mickenzi Benter (Appleton, Wis.) cut the lead to 23-19, but the Black and Red took the set, 25-20.

CUW came out swinging in the second set and ballooned the lead up to 22-11 with a kill from senior Gabriella Kaebisch (Paddock Lake, Wis.). The Falcons leveled the match with a 25-16 victory in set two.

UWRF took the lead in the third set at 5-4 and never looked back. The Falcons of River Falls. Pushed the lead to seven at 23-16, before taking the set, 25-17.

The serve of senior Jenna Chaussee (Chilton, Wis.) put UWRF behind the eight ball early and sprung CUW to an early 6-0 lead that they would not relinquish. A kill from junior Maycee Karpfinger (Wauwatosa, Wis.) sent the match to a fifth set at 25-16.

The fifth set had been unkind to the Falcons in 2022 with losses against Illinois Tech, Carthage and Coe, but the birds were finally able to break through on Saturday. The Falcons started with a kill from sophomore Lauren Shroba (Bolingbrook, Ill.) and never gave up the lead the rest of the way. A 5-1 run gave the Falcons some separation and an attacking error gave Concordia a 15-11 victory.

Four Falcons reached double-digit kills on Saturday morning, with Maycee Karpfinger leading the way with 14. She also led CUW with 17 points after she had three blocks.

Jenna Chaussee secured a double-double performance with 19 digs and 12 kills.

Gabriella Kaebisch had a block party with five total blocks in the victory.

Senior Sierra Lee (Kenosha, Wis.) also finished with a double-double outing of 32 assists and 17 digs.

The Falcons fought hard to close the tournament against the 12^th-ranked host Pointers but fell 25-20, 25-12, 26-28, 21-25, 16-14.

The Pointers proved why they are one of the best teams in the nation and took a 2-0 lead with 25-20 and 25-12 victories to start the match.

The third set was a battle until the very end. The Pointers took an early 11-7 lead, but the Falcons clawed back and tied the set at 11. A service ace gave the Falcons the lead at 15-14. The Pointers reached match point at 24-21 and were about to bring out the brooms, but CUW responded with kills from senior Sophia Collins (Lake Mills, Wis.) and Lauren Shroba, A pair of errors gave the Falcons a 25-24 lead. The Falcons stayed alive with a pair of UWSP errors to close the set at 28-26.

Despite trailing for the first half of the fourth set, CUW was able to tie the set at 14 with a kill from Gabriella Kaebisch. The Falcons continued to fight and closed the set on a 5-1 that was anchored by a service ace from freshman Stella Zarling (West Bend, Wis.) and a kill from Maycee Karpfinger to force a fifth set at 25-21.

The serve of Stella Zarling gave the Falcons a 5-3 lead after a pair of service aces, but that would be the biggest lead for either team. Each team threw some punches and with the set tied at 13, Lauren Shroba gave the Falcons a match point with a kill. That turned out to be the final point for the Blue and White as Stevens Point took the next three points to take the match.

Maycee Karpfinger led the flock with 18 kills and seven blocks.

Defensively, CUW was led by Sierra Lee with 18 digs and 28 assists.

Stella Zarling finished with a career-best six service aces.

Maycee Karpfinger was named to the Pointer Invitational All-Tournament Team.

CUW looks to get back in the win column on Friday night when it resumes NACC play at Rockford.