Oct. 26, 2011 - The Concordia-Chicago volleyball team clinchedone of eight berths in next week's Northern Athletics Conference tournament with a 25-20, 25-19, 25-14 win over Alverno College in Milwaukee this evening. The Cougars (11-15, 6-6 NAC) finish as a number six seed and will play at third-seed Edgewood College next Tuesday, Nov. 1.

The Cougars demonstrated a balanced attack tonight in the absence of their leader in kills, Sarah Potter (New Haven, IN/Woodlan). They found it difficult to shake the pesky Inferno but eventually wore them down in the third set with a 12-kill, .357 attack. Concordia finished the match with a .280 attack on 38 kills against 10 errors.

Bianca Gordon (Milwuakee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran) gave a strong showing in her hometown with a 10-kill (.529) and four-block effort. Claire Mackey (Shelton, NE/Heartland Lutheran) added nine kills and a .348, and the junior was particularly lethal in sets two and three where she hit .556.

Senior Rachel Cooper (Roscoe, IL/Hononegah) and junior Sarah Brendel (Hazelwood, MO/Hazelwood West) took Potter's place in the lineup tonight and filled in admirably. Cooper recorded six kills without an error in 16 tries (.375) and Brendel added seven kills. Savanna Ashbaugh's (Waverly, IL/H.S.) distribution was sharp with 33 assists.

Defensively, Maryl Pinotti (Evergreen Park, IL/H.S.) contributed 14 digs, and Amy Fischer (Roselle, IL/Lake Park) supplied a strong effort in reserve with a season-high 13 digs.

Concordia will travel to St. Louis for four matches this weekend at The Washington University Halloween Classic. The Cougars will play Hanover College and the host school on Friday, and Eastern University and the College of Mount St. Joseph on Saturday.