Falcons go 3-2 at home Nelson Invite
The Abbotsford Falcons are now 2-2 in the Marawood-North and 16-11 overall after defeating Rib Lake and going 3-2 over their weekend tournament.
Rib Lake, 3-0
Abbotsford made short work of their Marawood conference foes Tuesday night. After making the trip out to Rib Lake, the Falcons promptly defeated the home team in straight sets, winning by scores of 25-16, 25-13 and 25-12.
The Falcons were expected to win going into the match and they met those expectations with relative ease. Their opponents struggled to find ways to score and did not seem to have any answers to Abbotsford’s offensive power.
Haylee Soyk and Sydney Falteisek proved to be too much for Rib Lake to handle, with both middles recording double digit kills, Soyk ending the night with 11 and Falteisek with 10. Faith Sperl set up the majority of those attacks, ending the evening with 12 assists.
Soyk and Falteisek also led the team in digs on the defensive end, with the former having eight and the latter 12. Adriana Fuentes-Rivera added seven of her own.
The team also had three blocks, with five Falcons getting in on at least one. Falteisek had two assisted blocks and Soyk, Calley Ruesch, Briseida Escalera, and Tatum Bargender were all in on one block each.
Abbotsford Tournament
The Falcons went 3-2 at the Mary and Bud Nelson Invite held in Abbotsford on Saturday. They were 2-1 in their pool play and then 1-1 in the bracket.
It was a tough start to the morning for the tournament hosts. Facing the Stratford Tigers, the Falcons lost in straight sets, 20-25 and 19-25. 17 hitting errors led to a negative hitting percentage and eight errors from the service line were ultimately the difference makers between the two teams.
Abbotsford bounced back in the next two matches, taking down Spencer and Whitehall. The Rockets, still in search of their first win of the season, went down in two sets, the Falcons making quick work of their opponents 25-21 and 25-10. The Norse did not put up much more resistance and the Falcons dominated the match, taking the first set 25-14 and winning the second set 25-19. In the victories, Abbotsford cleaned up the errors from the first match, only having eight hitting errors against Spencer and six against Whitehall.
Moving from the pool play to the tournament’s bracket, Abbotsford struggled in their first match back on the court after a break in the action. Prescott proved to be a difficult opponent and the Falcons lost 18-25 and 13-25. The team ended the tournament on a high note, however, winning their final game of the tournament against Loyal. They defeated the Greyhounds 25-12 and 25-17.
Soyk led Abbotsford in kills, recording 26 over the course of the day. Falteisek added 22 and Escelara had 21.
Escalera also had nine aces in the five matches, which was tied for the team high for the tournament. Sommer Brodhagen had nine herself and Ruesch totalled eight for the day.
Ruesch led the team with four blocks. Brodhagen and Faith Sperl led the team in assists, the pair sharing the setting duties almost evenly with Brodhagen ending with 41 assists and Sperl collecting 43.
Libero Fuentes-Rivera led the team in digs, racking up 30 total. Falteisek added 28 of her own and Soyk had 21.
The Falcons host a Marawood crossover challenge this Saturday, with Athens, Chequamegon, Edgar, Assumption, and Newman Catholic all competing. They will have their last conference match on Tuesday against Phillips.
