Close Sets In St. Paul

ST. PAUL, Minn. (4/08/21)---Concordia and Hamline traded wins in the first two sets of their conference match-up on Thursday, but then point streaks in the middle of the third set and end of the fourth set enabled the Pipers to pull away for the 3-1 win. (27-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20).

The most dramatic set of the night came in the opener when the Cobbers trailed 23-16 but then ran off nine of the next nine points to take a 25-24 lead and earn their first set point of the night. Hamline would win the first set by getting a kill and then forcing an attack error before finishing the 27-25 win with a kill.

The Cobbers couldn't recover from the tough loss in the first and gave up the first four points of the second. CC then rattled off seven of the next eight points to take a 7-5 lead. Concordia held a slim lead until Hamline won four straight points to take a 16-12 advantage. The Cobbers eventually tied the set at 18-18 and then the teams trade points until it was even up at 23-23. Unlike the first set, the Cobbers were the team with better end-set game and won 25-23 when they forced an attack error and then got a kill from Anna Brakke.

The third set went back-and-forth until the Pipers turned a 13-11 lead into a 20-13 margin and wound up winning 25-17. The Hamline run in the fourth came after the set was tied at 15-15. HU then won four straight points to grab a 19-15 lead and extended the margin to six at 23-17 before clinching the match with a 25-20 win.

Concordia hit above .150 in the first three sets before dropping to .097 in the fourth and ended the match with a .189 attack percentage. That is their highest hitting mark of the season. Hamline hit above .150 in all but the second set and finished at .193 for the match.

The Cobbers held a 7-3 advantage in blocks on the night while Hamline had a 73-68 edge in digs.

Bailey Gronner, Brakke and Kendra Wiggs all finished with double-digit kill totals. Gronner had a team-high 11 winners and recorded a team-best .296 attack percentage. She also had three blocks.

Brakke had 10 kills to go along with eight digs and she hit .219.

Wiggs also had 10 kills and had a .217 attack percentage while coming away with three blocks.

Senior Jill Klaphake led the offense with 26 assists and freshman Chloe Markovic was the top defensive player. She had 17 digs in the four sets.

UP NEXT: Concordia will return home to host Gustavus in a Sunday matinee match-up. The Cobbers will face the Gusties on Sunday, Apr. 11 at 3 p.m. The match will be the first of the season for Gustavus.

RECAP SPONSOR: Tonight's recap sponsor is Erbert & Gerbert's. Whether its overall support for the entire department or feeding individual teams during breaks, Erb & Gerb's has always been a terrific partner of Concordia sports.