A Decisive 4-Set Win Sends Senior Out A Winner
MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/30/21)----It was nothing but good news for Concordia in their final match of the 2021 season. The Cobbers played two of their strongest sets of the year to break open a 1-1 tie and beat playoff-bound St. Benedict 3-1 (26-24, 14-25, 25-14, 25-15).
The win was a fitting tribute to lone senior Casey Coste who played in her final match and helped CC record their ninth victory of the year.
The teams traded set win wins to open the match. Concordia scored the final two points of the first set to post a 26-24. CC held a 24-22 lead in that bout before the Bennies scored two straight. A kill from freshman Maria Watt and a set error staked CC to the 1-1 lead.
The Cobbers then stumbled in the second set, giving up 12 of the final 16 points and losing 25-14. Instead of continuing the downward trend, Concordia responded with two stellar sets. CC broke open the third set with a 10-3 run and won going away. The fourth set was all Cobbers in the final stretch. With the score at 14-11 in their favor, Concordia rattled off six of the next seven points to grab a 20-12 lead and take the air out of the CSB sails.
Concordia (9-17, 2-9 MIAC) hit a match-best .387 and had 15 kills in the fourth set. The Cobbers ended the day by hitting .200 with 50 kills. They also had 84 digs and 10 team blocks.
St. Benedict (7-13, 5-6 MIAC) had a .079 attacking percentage for the match. They posted 44 kills, 80 digs and 5 team blocks.
The Cobbers had four players with at least nine kills. Kendra Wiggs came through with a match-high 13 kills and hit .400 in her 25 total attacks. The 13 kills are the second highest total for the season for Wiggs.
Anna Brakke, Brook Carney and Watt all had nine winners. Brakke added 15 digs and four blocks. Carney hit .185, while Watt had a match-high six blocks.
The trio of Chloe Markovic, Karlie Goschen and Kenzie Urbanec combined for 44 of the team's 84 digs. Markovic had a team-high 24 digs. Goschen posted 19 digs and three service aces. Urbanec came through with 11 digs and 16 assists.
Mariah Iwen posted 26 assists to captain the CC offense.