Third-Set Rally Clinches MIAC Playoff Berth

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (10/24/12)—Concordia won 15 of the last 19 points in the third set against Augsburg and went on to sweep the Auggies 25-18, 27-25, 25-22. The victory clinches the Cobbers' 12^th consecutive MIAC playoff berth.

In addition to earning a spot in the upcoming conference tournament, Concordia secured the No.3 seed which marks the third straight year the Cobbers have finished in the top 3 of the final league standings. CC will open the postseason by hosting No.6-seed St. Olaf in a conference quarterfinal match on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.  

Concordia is now 7-3 in MIAC matches and 12-9 overall. Augsburg is eliminated from the hunt for a conference playoff spot and falls to 4-6 in league play and 14-12 overall.

Concordia seized control of the match in the first set. They won the first three points, sprinted out to a 12-6 lead and cruised to a 25-18 win. The second and third sets went back-and-forth with the Cobbers able to win both by stringing together consecutive points at the end of the set. In the second set, CC held off a match point at 25-24 and then rattled off three straight points to win 27-25. Augsburg looked to be in control of the third set, leading 18-10 but then Concordia went on their playoff-clinching 15-4 run.

Concordia hit .173 for the match. It is the first time in 13 matches that the team has hit under .200 and pulled out a victory. The Cobber defense held the Auggies to a .103 attack percentage and recorded 7.0 team blocks.

Olivia Wangensteen and Kelly Reed were Ms. Offense and Ms. Defense for the match. Wangensteen came away with a match-high 15 kills while Reed posted a match-high six blocks. Wangensteen hit .206 for the three sets and Reed had four kills with a match-high .300 attack percentage. Danelle Loomis recorded 22 assists and had a huge service ace. She posted the set-winning point in the second set when she served an ace with CC leading 26-25. Angie Waller and Rachel Wiinanen combined for 30 digs. Waller had a team-high 17 and Wiinanen chipped in 13.

Concordia will finish off the regular season by hosting St. Ben's on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Blazers have locked up second place in the final conference standings and will be the No.2 seed in the MIAC Tournament.