Another Winning Weekend

SUPERIOR, Wis. (9/09/23)--- The Cobbers posted a winning record at a tournament on the road for the second straight weekend. Concordia posted wins against Bethany Lutheran and Northland but lost to host Wis.-Superior at the 2-day UWS Stinger Classic.

THE 411: The Cobbers swept Bethany Lutheran (25-17, 25-25-21, 26-24) on Friday, but then fell 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-19, 25-19) in Game 1 on Saturday before rallying to beat the Lumberjills 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-16, 25-23) in the tournament finale. Concordia hit .199 for the three matches and limited their opponents to a .162 mark. CC also came away with 34 more kills in the three matches (156-122).

BETHANY LUTHERAN RECAP: Concordia turned a 5-4 lead into a 13-5 advantage in the first set and never looked back. CC hit .310 in the first set and never fell below .200 for the final two sets. The Cobbers were able to stave off two set points in the third set to earn the sweep. They trailed 24-22, but then won four straight points to claim a 26-24 win. Brook Carney led CC with 14 kills and hit a solid .591. Madison Kisch was the only other CC player with a double-digit kill total. She had 10 winners and hit .444. Kaia Lill posted the first of her 40-assist matches on the weekend. Chloe Markovic paced the defense with 15 digs.

UW-SUPERIOR RECAP: Slow starts in the third and fourth sets cost Concordia the decision against Superior. The teams traded set wins in the first two bouts. The Yellowjackets won the opener 25-22, and CC responded with a 25-19 victory in the second set. The momentum swung in Superior's favor in the third set when they opened a 7-point lead after the score was tied at 7-7. UWS would hold their 7-point lead and took a 25-19 win. The Cobbers fell behind 9-3 in the fourth set and were forced to chase the Yellowjackets the entire set. CC could only get to within five points at 21-16 before Superior won four of the final seven points to claim the match.

Carney had 14 more winners, while Mallory Leitner added 13. Lill had 40 more assists, Markovic added 20 digs – her second 20-plus dig match of the year – and Kisch had four blocks.

NORTHLAND RECAP: Concordia swung their third match of the weekend in their favor towards the end of the first set. With the score tied at 16-16, CC won four of the following five points and closed out a 25-20 win. The Cobbers then got overconfident at the start of the second set, fell behind 7-3 and lost 25-20. CC responded by cruising to a 25-16 win in the third set and grinding out a 25-23 in set No.4. The fourth set was tied at 22-22 before Concordia went on a 3-1 streak to win the match.

Concordia had four players with at least 10 kills against Northland. Leitner led all players with 14. Hannah Keil came away with 12 kills, and Kisch and Maria Watt posted 11 kills each. Lill had 43 assists, and Karlie Goschen had a season-high 21 digs.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Madison Kisch was the lone Cobber to be named to the All-Tournament Team. She finished with 25 kills, hit .298 and was a force at the net. She led the team in blocks with five.

ADDING UP THE ASSISTS: Lill had 123 assists in the three matches and now has 309 helpers for the season. That total leads the MIAC. Lill has 1,126 assists in her two years in maroon and gold.

UP NEXT: The Cobbers will head back to Wisconsin for their third tournament of the year next weekend. CC will play four matches at the Wis.-Eau Claire Invite on Sept. 15-16.