RIVER FALLS — River Falls volleyball expects to go out and win 3-0 each time they take the court, and that is exactly what they did Sept. 17, winning 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-21) against Woodbury.

River Falls has handled much of the season navigating injuries to some crucial players. Senior outside hitter Maddy Range has been building up playing time little by little while middle blocker Addy Nesbitt is missing time with an ankle injury.

“We’ve been working on trying to get Maddy back into the lineup more and more as she’s gotten healthy, but with having Addy Nesbitt out in the middle, it’s been hard cause you can’t ease one kid back in when you’ve got another hole,” Head Coach Sara Kealy said. “This is like our fourth lineup we’ve had this season.”

Kealy said Range was confident and ready to play and it showed, looking as healthy as ever on the court.

“It was nice to see her play confident and not timid or afraid, which after an injury like she had, is to be expected,” Kealy said. “I was really, really pleased with her performance individually but [also] how the rest of the group rallied around her.

“Our motto this year was fight on and out team, and I feel like that’s what we’ve had to do,” Kealy said.

Kealy credited the adaptability of the players, filling in spots and playing together no matter which position they are in. Brooke Dusek was one that stood out to Kealy, playing rotations in the middle despite being a 5-foot-6 right side, and Kealy said she has done well despite the challenge. Kealy has also called upon 5-foot-7 Abby Gilbertson in the middle position due to the injury to Nesbitt, and said the two players’ adaptability has been critical.

What allowed the team to cruise so easily to a win over Woodbury was their serve receive and passing accuracy. In what Kealy said may have been the team’s best passing performance since starting coaching at River Falls, they exceeded their statistical goal.

“Our serve receive was phenomenal. Our goal is to pass a 2.0. Three is a perfect pass, a zero is you got aced, so if we’re passing a 2.0, we’re in system most of the time. And after the second set, we were passing a 2.5,” Kealy said. “I think that might have been our best team passing night in my 15 years here.”

For Kealy, this stat is one that is a credit to the entirety of the team rather than one individual.

River Falls is pushing toward full strength after dealing with injuries, but the Wildcats also have their fair share of top-tier opponents to worry about in the coming weeks.

River Falls hosted Eau Claire Memorial, one of three undefeated teams in Big Rivers Conference play along with River Falls and Hudson, on Thursday and won 3-0. The Wildcats then took on a massive tournament at the Milwaukee Sting Center that featured some of the best teams in the state. River Falls takes on 20-0 Hudson on Oct. 3, who took down the Wildcats in the Menomonie Sprawl earlier in the season. Kealy said when healthy, the Wildcats are confident they can match up with anyone.

“All three really, really good teams, but, I think, all three we also weren’t playing at full strength,” Kealy said about the teams’ losses. “Us at full strength against those three teams, I would take us any day.”

Kealy said last season’s 19-14 record was not the perfect season by any means, but they used each loss as an opportunity to get better, and it all came together for the state tournament run in the postseason. This season, while still striving for an improved record, they hope to take on the same learning experiences.

“You can drop a match here and there as long as you’re learning from it,” Kealy said. “Ultimately, our goal is to be playing the best volleyball come playoff time.”

Though they expect to win 3-0 night in and night out, seeing the work they put in come to fruition still feels good after the sweeps do happen.

“It’s nice to see them apply the things that we’ve worked on and then find success with it,” Kealy said. “It just validates them that what they’re doing, how hard they’re working, is moving us in the right direction.”