Similar Score Success In St. Paul

ST. PAUL, Minn. (9/24/16)—It was a day for similar scores in St. Paul as Concordia swept Hamline by identical 25-20 set wins.

The win came less than 24 hours after the Cobbers outlasted Minn.-Morris in five sets and runs their win streak to two matches. Concordia is now 5-8 overall and 2-1 in MIAC play. The Pipers drop their second straight league match of the week and fall to 6-5 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

The first two sets were almost identical with the Cobbers pulling away in the middle of each contest. Concordia held an 11-10 lead in the first set and won nine of the next 11 points to grab a 20-12 lead. Hamline would then slowly close ground to get to within four at 24-20 before CC put the opener away on a kill by Haley Cuppett.

The Cobbers led 12-11 in the second set and then went on a 8-3 run. The Pipers then chipped away and got the lead to 24-20. A Piper attack error then sealed the second set and gave the Cobbers the momentum in the match.

Concordia did the majority of their work in the third set in the early stages. They built an 11-6 lead and kept Hamline from getting closer than five points until the Pipers made one final charge and got to within two at 20-18. CC then won four the next six points to take a déjà vu-like 24-20 lead. Emma Chandler finished off the match when she hammered home the kill on the final point.

Concordia hit .200 for the match and the Cobber defense limited Hamline to a .083 attack percentage. Concordia had 15 more kills than the Pipers (45-30) and came away with eight more digs.

Emily Friedrich and Brianna Carney both had a match-high 11 kills. Friedrich had team-high kill totals in both matches on the weekend and has now had at least 10 kills in seven of the 13 matches this season.

Stephanie Baker led a quartet of Concordia players with double-digit dig totals.  Baker had a match-high 20 digs. Mandy Mercil came away with 15 digs and four kills and Jena Klaphake added 12 digs. Klaphake also added 38 assists in the match.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will have a non-conference match at Valley City State on Tuesday, Sept. 27 and then return home to host the home conference doubleheader weekend on Friday and Saturday. CC will host St. Olaf on Sept. 30 and then St. Mary's on Oct. 1.