Oles Are Set Adrift On The High C's

MOORHEAD, Minn. (9/30/16)—Freshman Brianna Carney hit a Himalayan .520, threw down a match-high 15 kills and came away with three blocks in Concordia's 3-1 win over St. Olaf in the final match of September.

Carney's frontline heroics helped the Cobbers earn their third straight win and improve their conference record to 3-1 on the year. CC is now tied for third place in the league standings. It is the second three-match win streak of the year for Concordia who ups their overall record to 6-8.

Carney teamed with fellow "High C" front liner Haley Cuppett to record 27 of the team's 56 winners in the match. Cuppett had 12 kills in the four sets and also hit .200.

It was Cuppett who put the finishing touches on the first set. She had three kills in the final nine points of the opener. Cuppett came up with a big winner after the Oles had cut the lead to 23-20 and then put the first set away with a winner with the score at 24-23.

The Cobbers went on an 8-0 run in the second set after the score was tied at 14-14. Carney would finish off the set with a kill after St. Olaf had got to within seven points at 24-17.     

Concordia stumbled at the start of the third set. St. Olaf broke out to an 8-2 lead and the Cobbers spent their energy trying to get even. CC was able to tie the set at 11-11 and took a brief 12-11 lead but a 5-1 run after the score was tied at 18-18 helped the Oles to their only win of the night.

Concordia never trailed in the fourth set. CC eased its way to a 10-5 lead before the Oles made it 11-10. The set would stay within three points and then the Cobbers closed out the match on a 10-4 run.

The Cobbers hit .196 for the match which included a .310 mark in the opening set. CC had a .256 attack percentage in the fourth set after dropping to a mere .071 in the third set.

St. Olaf (7-10/0-4 MIAC) had a .147 attack percentage for the match.

Concordia held a 56-45 edge in kills and also came away with four more digs and four more service aces.

Senior Mandy Mercil and freshman Emma Chandler both added nine kills each. Mercil also had a match-high 20 digs. Stephanie Baker chipped in 19 digs and has had at least 19 digs in three straight matches.  

Jena Klaphake captained the CC offense by putting up a match-high 45 assists and earning four service aces. The 45 helpers is her second highest total of the year.   

MEMORIAL SWEET MEMORIAL
Brianna Carney has found a home inside Memorial Auditorium. The first-year player is hitting a robust .323 at home and only .173 in matches on the road. In addition to her monumental .520 attack percentage on Friday, she also hit .391 in the team's home opener against Valley City St.   

45 FOR 400 FOR 4
With her 45 assists Klaphake surpassed the 400-assist mark for the fourth straight season. Klaphake now has 424 helpers for the year and 1,757 for her career. Her career-best season assist total came in her freshman season in 2013 when she recorded 458 assists.

POSTMATCH INTERVIEW WITH JENA KLAPHAKE