Rally In Winona Keeps Cobbers Unbeaten In MIAC

WINONA, Minn. (9/28/13)—Concordia rallied from a 2-1 deficit at St. Mary's to post a 3-2 win over the Cardinals and remain unbeaten in MIAC play.  

Things didn't look good for Concordia in the fourth set of their second match on the annual MIAC road trip. The Cobbers trailed 2-1 and were eight points away from falling for the first time in conference play. That's when the CC offense took over as they won 14 of the next 17 points and seized control of the match.

Concordia has now won six of its past seven matches and is now 12-4 overall and 4-0 in league play. CC is one of only three conference teams that haven't lost in MIAC play.

The Cobbers were outscored 11-4 at the end of the first set and lost 25-18. Concordia then jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set and won 25-20. Unfortunately CC would stumble at the end of the third set and lost 25-21.

That would set the stage for Concordia's fourth set rally and then the win in the fifth set. With the fourth set tied at 17-17, Concordia rattled off four straight points and finished off the set with a kill from Angie Waller and an attack error from SMU. The Cobbers carried over the momentum into the fifth set as they bolted to a 6-0 lead, allowed St. Mary's to get to within three points at 12-9 and then closed out the match with three straight points on an attack error, a service ace from Alyssa Schmidt and a kill from Kynndyl Ross.

Concordia had three players finish in double digits in kills. Ross had a team-high 14 winners while Kayla Hampton and Waller had 10 each. Hampton hit a team-best .333 and also had five blocks. Schmidt came away with 25 digs while Jena Klaphake had 26 assists. Junior Kelly Reed had a season-high seven blocks in the match.

The Cobbers will return home and put their unbeaten record on the line when they host St. Catherine on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.