Sept. 24, 2013 - The Concordia volleyball team's collective performance during the four matches of their own weekend tournament gave reason for optimism that the Cougars were about to turn the corner on the season. That was certainly the case this evening as the Cougars unleashed a steady and solid hitting attack that led them to a 3-0 sweep of the visiting Rockford University Regents (25-18, 25-22, 25-20).
The first set gave an indication of things to come as Concordia hit .389 on 16 kills against just two errors in 36 attempts. Rockford led early, but consecutive kills by Kristin Allen (Green Valley, IL/Illini Central) gave the home team a lead they would not relinquish. Senior Lisa Koller (Indianapolis, IN/Indianapolis Lutheran) turned up the heat down the stretch as she scored a couple of late kills including the final point.
Concordia jumped out to a 16-6 lead in set two, thanks to a series of early strikes by middle blocker Bianca Gordon (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran). But Rockford made a late run as Emily Johnson served up six straight points to pull the visitors within 17-16. Gordon stemmed the tide with another key kill, and the Cougars held on for the three-point set win to go up 2-0 in the match.
The Cougars looked to make quick work of the Regents in set three. Koller contributed a block followed by a kill to put the Cougars up by a 14-3 score. However, Rockford went on a 15-6 run over the next several minutes to climb to within two points. A serving error ended the Regents' run, and the Cougars scored the next three points to open up some space. Moments later, Katie Hannon (Chicago, IL/Queen of Peace) provided the final point of the night to wrap up the Cougars' third victory in their last four matches.
Concordia's attack was led by Gordon who was spotless on the night. The senior recorded nine kills in 21 chances for a .429 attack percentage and added five total blocks (one solo). Koller added nine kills for a .304, following on her career-high of 10 kills set just three days ago. Allen tallied eight kills in 20 tries (one error) for a .350 attack, and freshman Danielle Sisco (Park Ridge, IL/Resurrection) added a young career-high of eight kills and a .333 attack. The offense flowed smoothly through setter Jenna Boggs (South Beloit, IL/Hononegah) who handed out 32 assists. Boggs led the team in digs with 14, followed by libero Ally Avila (Aurora, IL/Metea Valley) with 12, and Hannon and Olivia Friedrichs (San Diego, CA/Clairemont) with 10 each.
The Cougars (3-9, 1-1 NACC) will play at North Park University on Wednesday night. Game time has been moved up to 6:00, an hour earlier than originally scheduled.
