Cobbers Get Closer In Eau Claire

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (9/14/24)---It was the same outcome in the Cobbers' final two matches of the Wis.-Eau Claire Sandy Schumacher Memorial Tournament, but the difference is getting smaller and smaller.

Concordia played its closest match of the season in the opener on Day 2 when they went back-and-forth with Marian before finally losing in five sets 3-2 (26-24, 16-25, 27-25, 23-25, 15-12). The Cobbers dropped both the first and third sets in extra points and were within one point at 12-11 in the deciding set before the Panthers scored three of the final four points.

The Cobbers came out on fire in their final match of the weekend, taking the first set from 10-2 Univ. of Chicago 25-20. The Cobbers hit .125 in the opener and held the Maroons to a -.026 attack percentage. The momentum ended in the middle of the second set after the score was tied at 13-13. Chicago won eight of the next 11 points and claimed their own 25-20 win.

Chicago followed the second-set win with a 25-7 margin in the third set and then closed out the match with a 25-17 victory. The Maroons hit .409 and .333 in the final two sets while the Cobbers posted attack percentages of -.115 and .103.

The Cobbers hit .068 with 30 kills against Chicago while the Maroons finished at .208 with 55 winners.

Concordia opened the 3-match weekend by dropping a 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-22) decision against Colorado College which was in the "others receiving votes" category in the latest DIII AVCA national poll.

Junior Mallory Leitner led the Cobber attack with 31 kills in the three matches. She hit .299 for the weekend and also added 6.0 blocks. Leitner's top match of the weekend came against Marian when she threw down a season-high 17 winners and hit .357.   

Sophomore Samantha VanHeel added 25 kills on the weekend. She had nine winners against Marian and a team-high nine kills in the opener against Colorado College.

Senior Maria Watt led the defense at the net. She recorded 8.0 blocks which included 6.0 against Marian.

First-year setter Betsy Schiltz was thrown into the starting position because of an injury and responded by coming away with 60 assists. She had 38 vs. Marian which is the most by a CC player this season. Schiltz also had 29 digs in the three matches – including 21 against Marian.

Senior Elizabeth Naugle led the Concordia defense with 40 digs. She posted double-digit dig totals in each of the final two matches and leads CC this season with 71.  

Concordia will finish the tournament portion of its 2024 schedule when they head back to the Land of Cheese to compete in the Wis.-Stevens Pt. Invite on Sept. 20-21.