Sept. 24, 2011 - Day two of the Wheaton College Invitational presented the Concordia Cougar volleyball team with a couple of stiff challenges. The Cougars took on the host Wheaton Thunder and the Dominican University Stars, both teams entering play this morning with winning records. Concordia played well in spurts but not for long enough stretches to earn a victory.
In the morning match versus Wheaton, a slow start hampered Concordia's chance at a victory. The passing and setting areas were not up to par as the Cougars lost 25-9. However, Concordia found a rhythm beginning with set two and began to take it to the hosts. A late rally came up just short as Wheaton won set two 25-23 and looked to extinguish Concordia's hopes.
Instead, the Cougars raised their game another notch and led for virtually all of set three, holding on to win 25-23 and forcing a fourth set. However, the Thunder recovered their composure and finished the match with a 25-19 win to take the match.
Concordia employed a 5-1 offense, and the tactic resulted in a couple of very strong performances.
Savanna Ashbaugh (Waverly, IA/H.S.) dashed out a season-high 34 assists, 14 going to senior
Sarah Potter (New Haven, IN/Woodlan). Middle hitter
Bianca Gordon (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran) played an exceptional match, pounding out 11 kills in 19 atempts without an error for a .579 attack.
Against Dominican, the Cougars put up a tough battle against the current NAC-leading Stars but came up short by scores of 25-21 and 25-20. The energy expended took a toll on the Cougars in set three, and the Stars closed out with a 25-14 win in set three to complete the sweep.
Dominican's Jacy Lawrence put up huge attack numbers in the match, chalking up 12 kills against just one error in 28 tries for a .393 kill percentage. Potter and
Allison Sapiro (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran) led the Cougars with seven kills each. Sapiro also added three block assists.
The Cougars (6-9) return to Northern Athletics Conferencce competition Tuesday night when they meet the MSOE Raiders at the Kern Center in Milwaukee.
