End-Set Points Tough To Come By

WINONA, Minn. (11/03/15)—In the end it wasn't the result Concordia was looking for but it was still a testimony to the perseverance to get back to the postseason. The Cobbers played three tight sets against St. Mary's but dropped all three and lost in the quarterfinals of the MIAC playoffs 25-22, 25-23, 25-20.

Concordia was appearing in the conference tournament after missing the playoffs last year. It was the first CC had missed the postseason time since the league went to the single elimination format in 2001. The Cobber players dedicated the 2015 season to getting back to the layoffs and it paid off with a No.5 seed and the team's 14th trip to the conference tournament.

Concordia finishes the season with a 15-11 record marking the 10th time in the past 14 years that the Cobbers have had at least 15 overall wins.    

The difference in the quarterfinal match with the Cardinals came in the end-set point totals. In the first set the match was tied at 22-22 before SMU rattled off the final three points to win 25-22. The second set was all Concordia until the stretch run where St. Mary's came up with two straight points and won 25-23. CC had enjoyed a n 18-14 lead until the Cardinals broke out to a 7-0 run to capture a 21-18 advantage. The Cobbers would tie the match at 21-21 by winning the next three points but was unable to finish in the final two points.

The third set stayed even until 11-11 when CC lost their way, gave up a decisive 5-1 run and could never get within two points until the final 25-20 decision.

Concordia hit .149 for the match as compared to .195 for the Cardinals. The Cobbers hitting percentage dwindled form set to set. CC hit .200 in the first set, .143 in the second and then .000 in the third. St. Mary's saved their best attack mark for the third set as they hit .246 in the final set.

The Cobbers entered the match as the top block team in the conference while St. Mary's was last in the category. The roles were reversed in the quarterfinal match. CC only had four blocks while the Cardinals came up with seven. It was the first time Concordia had under five blocks in the last eight matches.

The match featured a statistical oddity as no player had a double-digit kill total. Anna Skow-Anderson had a match-high nine kills and had a team-best .400 attack percentage.

Olivia Wangensteen had five kills in the first set, finished with eight winners for the match and hit .148. She also had 11 digs and two blocks.

Heather Beaner came up with eight kills and hit .235 while Korbyn Ross added 17 digs and Mandy Mercil recorded a match-high 18 assists.