Start Fast, Finish With A Flurry

MOORHEAD, Minn. (9/7/16)—Concordia started fast and finished with a flurry in their 3-2 (25-9, 22-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-13) win over non-conference opponent Valley City State.

The Cobbers won 15 of the first 19 points in the first set and then closed out the match by grabbing four of the final seven points as they won for the second straight match.

Concordia (2-3) had three players finish with over 10 kills in the match. Emily Friedrich led all players with 13 kills. She hit .294 and had seven digs. Haley Cuppett had 12 winners and also added a team-high 25 digs while Brianna Carney added 11 kills and had a team-high .391 attack percentage.

The Cobbers hit .173 as a team for the five sets as compared to .155 for the Vikings. VCSU had two more kills in the match (53-51) and Concordia had one more service winner (7-6).

Concordia's seniors led by example in the match. Mandy Mercil had one of the most all-around matches of any player. She finished with eight kills, 10 assists and 23 digs. Jena Klaphake had a team-high 36 assists and recorded nine digs.

"It was our serving and changing the momentum," commented Mercil about the keys to the fifth set. "They had the momentum but I think we had some big kills that really changed that and we stopped their runs early."

The Cobbers ran away with the first set by cruising to a 15-4 lead and then finishing it off at 25-9. Valley City finally found their offensive way in the second set after the Cobbers took a 4-1 lead and then went up 8-2. The second set was won in the final three points with the Vikings breaking a 22-22 tie by winning all of the last three points.

Concordia responded by returning the favor in the third set. With the set tied at 22-22, the Cobbers got a kill from Klaphake before two winners by Friedrich put CC up 2-1.

Valley City (1-4) owned the fourth set by winning eight of the final 10 points. They won 25-18 after holding a one-point advantage at 17-16.

The Vikings appeared to take the momentum into the final set but Concordia put together a pair of three-point runs. The first came when the score was tied at 5-5 and the second put CC up 14-11 after it was tied at 11-11.

HOME OPENING OPTIMISM: The victory over Valley City in the home opener marked the 15th consecutive home-opening win for the Cobbers. The last time Concordia lost a home opener was back in 2001. The win was also the second straight home-opening victory over the Vikings. CC beat VCSU 3-2 last year. Concordia has beaten Mayville State five times during their 15-match home-opening win streak.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will have the weekend off and then open up MIAC play next week. The Cobbers will travel to St. Paul to take on Macalester on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.

Concordia vs. Valley City State Match Highlights