Early-Season Avengers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bethel (Minn.) (7-7/0-2 MIAC) | 20 | 26 | 12 | 0 |
|
Concordia-M'head (10-4/2-0 MIAC) | 25 | 28 | 25 | 3 |
MOORHEAD, Minn. (9/21/13)—Concordia avenged an early-season loss against Bethel by sweeping the Royals 25-20, 28-26, 25-12 on Saturday. The Cobbers lost to BU 3-1 earlier in the month in a non-conference match but showed their season improvement by earning their fourth win in the last five matches.
Concordia is now 10-4 overall and 2-0 in the MIAC. The Cobbers have also improved on the 2012 season as they didn't hit the double-digit win total until Oct. 16 when they were 10-8. Bethel loses for the third straight match and is now 7-7 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
The Cobbers took an early lead in set No.1 but then watched the Royals rattle off six straight points to take a 9-7 lead. CC rallied, tied the set at 12-12 and then settled the opening contest in the final eight points by turning a 19-18 lead into a 25-20 victory.
The second set turned out to be the pivotal contest of the match. Bethel led throughout the set and had a pair of set points at 24-22. Concordia came up with a pair of points on a attack errors by BU and then had a pair of set points of their own before winning 28-26. The Cobbers got a service error when the game set was tied at 26-26 and then Olivia Wangensteen settled the contest with one of her match-high 12 kills in the match.
The dramatic extra-point win didn't take the wind out the Royal sails immediately. The third set was won with a monster 10-3 run that turned a tight 6-5 set into a 16-8 cruise.
Wangensteen helped the Cobbers finish with a .225 attack percentage. Junior Kelly Reed had a match-high .545 attack percentage. Senior Kayla Hampton finished with a .417 attack rate. In addition to her 12 kills, Wangensteen had 11 digs to record her third double-double in the last five matches and eighth in the season. Kynndyl Ross added 10 kills and Angie Waller had a match-high 17 digs. Mandy Mercil led the CC offense with 25 assists.
Concordia will hit the road for their annual away weekend doubleheader. The Cobbers will play at Carleton on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. and then at St. Mary's on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 3 p.m.