Nov. 1, 2011 - Concordia's volleyball Cougars traveled to Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin this evening for a first-round Northern Athletics Conference tournament match-up. The sixth-seeded Cougars were looking to extend their season and avenge an Oct. 14 loss to the third-seeded Eagles - a three-set loss where all sets were decided by two points. While tonight's rematch featured much of the same competitive play between the two, the result was the same as Edgewood won in four sets (25-21, 25-19, 26-28, 25-19) to end Concordia's season.
Edgewood scored the first two points of the match, and that would be all they needed to control the tempo of the remainder of set one. The Eagles hit a solid .306 (15-4-36), led by Mallory Palmer's five kills, and also scored on a few blocks early in the set. Claire Mackey (Shelton, NE/Heartland Lutheran) recorded four kills and a .667 in the set, but the Cougars as a whole hit just .062 (9-7-32).
Concordia got on top early in set two, but an 8-0 run by Edgewood wiped out an 8-7 lead. The Cougars stayed close for the remainder of the set, but hitting miscues prevented them from going on a sustained run.
In set three, the two teams traded points in the early going. However, with the score 14-13 in favor of Edgewood, the Eagles went off on a 5-0 run to up the pressure on the Cougars. Concordia got the side-out and then went to work. Mackey served up six straight points. Bianca Gordon's (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran) kill tied the set at 19-19, and Gordon and Savanna Ashbaugh (Waverly, IL/H.S.) teamed up on a block to give Concordia the lead. However, Edgewood scored the next four points - three coming off of Cougar hitting errors.
The score was 24-21 when the Cougars rallied again. Sarah Potter (New Haven, IN/Woodlan) put down a kill shot, and three straight Edgewood errors made the score 25-24 Cougars. The Eagles came back to tie, but Mackey's kill gave Concordia a 27-26 lead. An Edgewood error closed out set three as the Cougars stayed alive in the match.
Concordia rode the momentum early in set four by scoring the first three points and six of the first seven. However, the Eagles recovered and turned things around with an 8-3 run in the middle of the set to take the lead for good. Palmer powered the home team down the stretch with two of the final four points to close out the match.
Mackey posted her eighth double-double of the season with 15 kills (.244) and 13 digs. Potter and Rachel Cooper (Roscoe, IL/Hononegah) each added eight kills in their final collegiate matches while Gordon tallied eight kills and six blocks (one solo). Ashbaugh handed out 36 assists and added four block assists, and Maryl Pinotti (Evergreen Park, IL/H.S.) led both teams in digs with 17.
Edgewood (19-13) was led by Palmer's 16 kills (.205) and Jessica Martin's nine kills.
Concordia finishes the season 11-20 overall, 6-6 in Northern Athletics Conference play. They graduate three seniors - Potter, Cooper and Briana Steffenhagen (Chicago, IL/DeLaSalle).
