A Solid Start To 2013

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. (8/31/13)—Concordia started the 2013 season on solid ground as they went 3-1 at the St. Ben's Labor Day Weekend Tournament. The Cobbers claimed wins over Northwestern (Minn.) and UW-Eau Claire as well as Northland and lost to No.25-ranked UW-Eau Claire.

Concordia's wins over Northwestern and Eau Claire are a good measuring stick for CC as both teams received votes in the preseason AVCA national poll. Northwestern was picked to finish first in the UMAC preseason coaches' poll while Eau Claire was selected second in the WIAC preseason poll and earned four first-place votes.

The Cobbers started the tournament by beating UW-Eau Claire 3-1 and then outlasted Northwestern 3-2. CC won the opening two sets of the season before allowing the Blugolds to pick up a 25-19 win in set 3. Concordia then closed out the match with a 25-20 in set 4. The Cobbers had three players with double-digit kill totals in the opener. Sophomore All-Region outside hitter Olivia Wangensteen had a team-high 15 kills while Kynndyl Ross added 13 and Anna Skow-Anderson finished with 10. Angie Waller had a team-high 17 digs while freshman Mandy Mercil posted a match-high 42 assists.

The Cobbers' win in the second match over regional rival Northwestern was more dramatic as they fell behind 1-0, rallied to take a 2-1 lead and then won six of the final nine points in set 5 after the decisive battled was tied at 9-9. CC outhit the Eagles .246 to .154 and did not hit below .146 in the five-set affair.

Ross led all players with 19 kills. Wangensteen and Skow-Anderson once again added double-digit kill totals and combined for 27 winners. Waller had 22 digs and Mercil put up 36 assists.

Concordia lost their only match of the weekend in the first match early Saturday morning. The Cobbers never got on track offensively and fell 3-0 to the No.25-ranked Pointers. CC never hit above .100 in any set and finished with a tournament low .031 attack percentage.

The Cobbers rebounded quickly as they blanked Northland 3-0 (25-18, 25-8, 25-7). Concordia hit an impressive .591 in the second set and then .550 in the third set.

CC used 14 players in the final match of the tournament. The Cobbers had 10 players record at least one kill and were led by Skow-Anderson who had nine winners and a pair of blocks. Freshman Abby Grove had eight kills while Alyssa Schmidt finished with six digs and Mercil contributed 16 assists.  Fellow freshman Jena Klaphake added 15 assists.

Ross and Wangensteen were named to the All-Tournament Team. Ross had a team-high 48 kills and .210 for the four matches. She also had 30 digs and four service winners. Wangensteen was close behind with 42 winners and also chipped in 38 digs and a team-high eight service aces.

Concordia will now host their home opener when they square off against Mayville State on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. The Cobbers were 5-2 in Memorial Auditorium last season and beat the Comets 3-2 and 3-1 in the two matches between the teams in 2012.