MENOMONIE — River Falls, Ellsworth and Elmwood/Plum City’s volleyball teams each took part in the Menomonie Sprawl at UW-Stout this past weekend, with River Falls leading the way with a second-place finish out of 40 teams.

River Falls

The second-place finish for the Wildcats started with 2-0 wins over Merrill (25-11, 25-19), Cochrane-Fountain City (25-20, 25-13), Chetek-Weyerhaeuser (25-8, 25-10) and Unity (25-14, 25-20) to finish 4-0 in pool play.

Winning the pool landed River Falls in the championship bracket, composed of the top 16 teams from pool play. The 2-0s did not stop, as River Falls advanced to the quarterfinals with a sweep against Prairie Farm (25-17, 25-17). The quarterfinals were a 2-0 win over Eau Claire North (25-13, 25-15) and the semifinals was another dominant win, this time against St. Croix Central (25-14, 25-13).

All of the winning led River Falls to the championship match against a familiar foe, Hudson. While the Wildcats had not dropped a set all day, Hudson took a 2-0 win to end the tournament (25-20, 25-13).

After an injury to a key player leading up to the event, the Wildcats were looking to use the tournament to build cohesiveness with a new lineup.

“We had a good couple days of practice, we were feeling pretty confident in our lineup and our rotations, and then when something like that happens, you have to adjust on the fly,” Head Coach Sara Kealy said.

River Falls could not get the tournament win, but came within striking distance. The Wildcats had built a lengthy winning streak at the event, and do not fear anybody that steps in their path.

“Our goal is always to win,” Kealy said. “We won 2017 through 2022, so I don’t think we go into any tournament not expecting to be the winner.”

While there is a focus on the on-court aspect as well, Kealy heavily values what the team is doing off the court.

“We value culture a lot,” Kealy said. “I think that’s something that early on in my coaching career I didn’t realize the impact that had on a group. I think that’s a constant conversation that we’re having.”

Kealy said River Falls has a history of being an offensive-minded squad, but they aim to put more emphasis on ball control to go with the explosive offense this year.

EPC

EPC Head Coach Amanda Webb knew the team would be going against some schools that are significantly larger than theirs. The Wolves landed in 23rd place, kicking off the weekend 2-2 in pool play.

“Get better every day we’re on the court, even playing against really good teams,” Webb said.

First up for EPC was Rice Lake, who ended up with a third-place finish. EPC lost 2-0 (25-13, 25-17) before beating Turtle Lake in three sets (25-17, 19-25, 15-12). Lakeland got the best of EPC (25-19, 25-23), but EPC rebounded with a three-set win against Athens (22-25, 25-12, 15-7).

EPC landed in the 17-24th place bracket, losing in the quarterfinals to St. Croix Falls. After losing to Cadott after, EPC sneaked out a win against Bloomer to land in 23rd on the weekend.

The team had one senior last year, so most of the players are returning with more experience than before. This year there are four senior leaders that Webb credited for their leadership they bring to the team.

“It will be good for us to see some good teams and continue to build confidence,” Webb said.

As is a theme for many of the teams at the Sprawl, the fundamentals are set in place, but building the togetherness between the six players on the court can take some time.

“Learning to work together and trusting each other,” Webb said. “Our passing has improved a lot, so I am really hopeful with good passing we can be offensively really aggressive this year.”

Webb said the team has made drastic improvements from last year, as they won four matches last year and have brought in five wins over a pair of events to open this season.

Ellsworth

Ellsworth dropped a three-set heartbreaker to open the weekend against Bloomer (25-22, 14-25, 12-15), and dropped another three-set match to Clear Lake (25-22, 22-25, 9-15) in the next match. Eau Claire Memorial swept Ellsworth (25-16, 25-21), but the team snatched a win in three sets against Cameron (17-25, 25-18, 15-13) to end pool play.

In the 25th-32nd bracket, Ellsworth beat Athens (25-13, 25-21) to advance. Baldwin-Woodville beat Ellsworth in three sets (23-25, 25-19, 15-6) before Cochrane-Fountain City beat the Panthers (25-8, 25-18) to land them in 28th place.

Ellsworth entered the tournament with a similar perspective to River Falls and EPC to build the team connection.

“It’s just finding the cohesive connection amongst a certain core group of girls that is able to go out there and execute in all six rotations,” Head Coach Kayla Klecker said.

Klecker said Ellsworth’s level of success this season will come down to the mental factor.

“The mental toughness of our players to make sure that they don’t get down on themselves,” Klecker said. “Even if their day isn’t 100%, that they’re able to give it their best. And if it’s not able to be that person, that they’re accepting of the other person stepping into that role.”