Sept. 2, 2011 - A busy opening weekend for volleyball got underway this afternoon as the Concordia Cougars hosted their sister school Concordia Austin. The visitors not only brought some Texas-type heat up north with them but also some formidable opposition as they downed the Cougars in four sets (25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 25-22).

 

The Tornados led for most of the first two sets but could never pull away too far. The Cougars stayed close behind 13 kills from senior Sarah Potter (New Haven, IN/Woodlan) and seven kills (.333) from sophomore Bianca Gordon (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran). However, the Cougars hurt themselves in some key instances as they were guilty of 14 serving errors and nine reception errors.

 

A seven-point win in the third set gave the home team some hope, but the Tornados regrouped and won the fourth set to take the match. Kalynn White led the visitors with 13 kills while setters Bianca Martinez and Samantha Ladewig combined for 36 digs. For the Cougars, Briana Steffenhagen (Chicago, IL/DeLaSalle) handed out 14 assists. The defensive effort was led by Maryl Pinotti (Evergreen Park, IL/H.S.) with 13 digs, Claire Mackey (Shelton, NE/Heartland Lutheran) with 10 and Potter with nine.

 

The Cougars will take on the Concordias of Ann Arbor and Wisconsin on Saturday in Concordia Invitational Volleyball Tournament play.