Oct. 7, 2011 - The Cougar volleyball team put forth two inspired performances and earned wins over Marian University and North Park University as part of a tri-match at Geiseman Gym this evening.
The Cougars started slowly but gradually gained steam in their Northern Athletics Conference match against Marian. The Sabres scored the first five points and held the lead for much of the opening set. However, trailing 24-23. Cheryl Robaczewski (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) entered the match and served Concordia's final three points to steal the set.
The comeback seemed to escalate the Cougars' intensity, and the team received a couple of big efforts along the way. Sarah Potter (New Haven, IN/Woodlan) led the attack with 11 kills, and middle blocker Allison Sapiro (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran) contributed perhaps her best effort of the season. Sapiro hit for eight kills and a .400 attack percentage, but more notable were her two solo blocks and six block assists. Her totals sparked a strong overall net game in which Concordia notched 11 points off of blocks. The Cougars went on to win the final two sets 25-22 and 25-9.
Later in the evening, the Cougars battled North Park who was coming off an intense 27-25, 34-32, 30-28 win over Marian. Both teams maintained their competitive fire at the oustset of the match, but the Cougars' continued aggressiveness eventually wore down their opponents. Set one came down to the very end once again with Concordia winning 28-26, but the Cougars pulled away down the stretch of sets two and three to prevail 25-19 and 25-17.
Potter's attack was even more lethal in this match as she recorded 14 kills against just one error in 29 tries for a .448 attack. Bianca Gordon (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran) also provided some solid offense with eight kills and a .467 attack. The blocking was superb again, accounting for eight team points. Sapiro and Gordon led the way with four block assists each.
The Cougars (9-11) will look to wrap up the weekend with a third straight win when they host Lakeland College on Saturday morning.
