MIAC Win Streak Closes Out 11-Win September

MOORHEAD, Minn. (9/30/23)---Concordia finished the month of September by running its conference win streak to three matches. The Cobbers used their new-found experience to outlast Hamline and post a 3-1 (25-15, 26-24, 25-27, 25-20) victory.

The Cobbers remain perfect in conference play with a 3-0 and move to 11-5 in all matches. The Pipers are now 3-9 overall and 0-3 in league play.

THE 411: Concordia cruised to the first set by hitting .212 and coming away with five more kills than Hamline. CC trailed only once in the opener, which briefly came at 10-9. The Cobbers won the following three points, 11 of the next 13 and cruised to the 10-point victory. The second was much closer, with Concordia trying to break free of the Pipers, and then Hamline would respond to keep it within a point. CC had multiple 3-point leads in the set, and each time, the Pipers rallied to get back to within a point. The set was tied at 24-24, and then the Cobbers were the recipients of a couple of HU errors and grabbed the 2-0 lead.

Hamline turned the table in the third set by claiming the win after the score was tied at 24-24 and then again at 25-25.

The Cobbers would close out the match by claiming the first eight points of the fourth set, never letting the Pipers get to within four points and rolling to the 25-20 win.

THE NEXT LEVEL: The 11 wins in the month of September are the most by Concordia in the month since they went 14-3 in 2011 – the year they won the MIAC and hosted the NCAA Regional Tournament.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Cobbers hit .216 in the four sets and had 60 kills, while Hamline had a .161 attack percentage and had 51 winners. CC also held a 5-4 edge in aces and a 6-2 advantage in blocks.

INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING: Sophomore Mallory Leitner continued her recent hot streak. She had 17 kills and hit .245. Leitner has led the team in kills in four of the past five matches and has a team-best 75 winners during that stretch. Leitner now has 166 kills on the season, which is second most on the team.

Senior Kaia Lill reached the 50-assist mark for the first time in 2023 and the third time in her Cobber career. She posted 50 assists and also came away with 10 digs. Lill has 613 assists on the season, which is third most in the MIAC.

Junior Hannah Keil had the most all-around match for CC. She recorded 12 kills and put up a team-high 22 digs. Both numbers tie her season highs, and it is the second straight double-double and fifth of the season.

Madison Kisch had a stellar match for CC. She was the third Cobber to post a double-digit kill total and led the team in blocks. She had 11 kills and recorded three blocks.                             

UP NEXT: Concordia will open October by playing at Mayville State in a non-conference match on Tuesday, Oct. 3 and returning home to face St. Catherine on Friday, Oct. 6.

CONCORDIA vs. HAMLINE HIGHLIGHTS: