Cobbers Face Oles In MIAC Quarterfinals

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/29/23)—Concordia will face St. Olaf in the quarterfinals of the MIAC volleyball tournament on Monday, Nov. 6. at 7 p.m. at Bob Gelle Court at Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn. The Cobbers are making their first MIAC playoff appearance since 2016 and 17th in program history.

Below you will find all the information you need to get ready for the "second season".

TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $2 for any students (5 years old and younger are free). There is no senior discount. MIAC passes will be honored. No other passes will be accepted.

WHAT: MIAC Volleyball Quarterfinals

WHEN: Monday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Bob Gelle Court at Skoglund Center - Northfield, Minn.

TEAMS: No.6 Seed Concordia (15-3/6-5 MIAC) at No.3 seed St. Olaf (19-8/7-4 MIAC)

LIVE LINKS:  Live Video | Live Stats

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Concordia finished ina 4-way tie for fourth in the final regualr-season standings with a 6-5 record after they swept Carleton on Saturday. By virtue of the conference tie-breaker procedure, the Cobbers were slotted into the No.6 seed. The Cobbers earned their first trip to the league playoffs since 2016 by winning their first three MIAC contests of the year, posting wins over Bethel and Augsburg and then capping the schedule with the win over the Knights.    

St. Olaf finished the regular season by winning 10 of their final 11 matches. They earned their No.3 seed by going 7-4 in the conference. 

RECORDS VS. OTHER PLAYOFF TEAMS: Concordia went 1-4 against the other five MIAC playoff teams. The Cobbers beat Bethel. The Oles went 4-1 in the regular season against conference playoff squads. St. Olaf beat the Cobbers earlier on October 27 and also recorded victories against Bethel, St. Catherine and St. Ben's.  

HOME AND AWAY: Concordia was 10-10 in away matches this year. The Cobbers were 2-4 on the road against MIAC teams. St. Olaf was 5-2 at home this year. That includes a 3-2 mark against conference opponents.

PLAYOFF PEDIGREE: Concordia is making its 17th overall MIAC playoff appearance, the second-most of any school in the conference. The Cobbers also have the second-most playoff titles of any current team in the league. CC is 12-14 all-time in the MIAC playoffs. The Cobbers have won the MIAC playoff tournament on four occasions (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008). Concordia is 2-8 on the road in the MIAC postseason and 5-6 in quarterfinal matches.

St. Olaf is making its 14th trip to the conference postseason. This will be the Oles sixth straight conference tournament appearance. St. Olaf is 15-11 all-time in the playoffs. The Oles have won the postseason championship on three occasions (2000, 2002, 2010). St. Olaf is 9-1 in playoff matches at home. The only loss came in the quarterfinals in 2012 against Carleton. The Oles are 5-2 in quarterfinal matches.      

PLAYOFF HEAD-TO-HEAD: This year's quarterfinal game will be the third time the two teams have met in the MIAC playoffs - and all three have been in the quarterfinals. St. Olaf has won the two previous match-ups, with a 3-2 thriller in 2008 and a 3-0 win in 2005. Both matches were played in Moorhead.    

REGULAR SEASON MATCH-UP: Concordia battled St. Olaf through five nail-biting sets in their regular-season contest on Oct. 27. The teams traded 25-23 wins in the first two sets. The Oles took a 2-1 lead with a 25-17 victory in the third set. The Cobbers showed the experience they've gained this season by overcoming a 23-21 deficit in the fourth set to post a 26-24 win.

The fifth set was tied at 8-8, then St. Olaf held 1-point leads at 9-8, 10-9 and 11-10 before they finished the match on a 4-0 run.

Concordia hit .171 on Friday and was led by Hannah Keil, who had a career-high 18 kills and hit .304.

Brook Carney and Mallory Leitner both had 13 winners, while Kaia Lill added 48 assists and a career-high 22 digs.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: How each team ranks in the MIAC for conference matches only.

STAT STARS: Concordia's offensive attack at the net is led by the quartet of Mallory Leitner, Brook Carney, Madison Kisch and Maria Watt. Leitner led the team in kills in conference matches with 122, while Carney was the oveall kill leader at 287. Watt and Kisch were both in the Top 15 in hitting percentage in MIAC matches. Watt was sixth and hit .310 and Kisch was 11th at .269. Senior Kaia Lill is the captain of the offense. She was second in the MIAC in assists with 409. Chloe Markovic was the defensive standout for the season as she finished eighth in the MIAC with 175 digs. 

The St. Olaf offense has a 2-player attack at the net with Catherine Moore and Anysia Caille finishing 3-4 in the league kill race. Moore was third with 155 winners and Caille was right behind with 151. Maren Miller was eigth in the league in attack percentage (.290). The Oles use a 2-setter offense with Paige Christophersen and Skylar Fildew both playing in 42 sets in MIAC play and ending the year within nine assists of one another. Christophersen was eighth in the MIAC with 248 helpers and Fildew was ninth at 239. Defensively, Selena Rodriguez sets the tone for St. Olaf. She was second in the MIAC in digs with 253.