Himlayan Win Climbs Cobbers Into Fifth Place

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/20/23)---In the scope of wins in 2023 for Concordia, their 5-set victory over Bethel was Himalayan.

The Cobbers overcame a 1-0 deficit and took a 2-1 lead before the Royals rallied to tie the match at 2-2. CC then won four of the first five points in the fifth set and claimed the 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 25-15, 15-9) win.

The victory snaps an 0-for-October skid for Concordia. The Cobbers had lost their first six matches of the month. Concordia is now 12-11 in all competitions, but more importantly, moves to 4-3 in league play and jumps into fifth place in the MIAC standings in the race for the playoffs, which features the Top 6 teams. CC jumped ahead of Bethel in the standings and broke a 4-way tie for fifth place heading into the match.

The win is also the first for the Cobbers over the Royals in the last 10 meetings between the teams. The last time Concordia beat Bethel was in 2013.

The Royals lose for only the second time in the last six matches and are 8-13 overall and tied for sixth place in the conference standings with a 3-4 mark.

Concordia finished the 5-set thriller by posting a season conference-best .300 attack percentage. They finished the match with a .500 hit percentage in the fifth set.

The Cobbers recorded seven more kills (71-64) than the Royals, while Bethel had a 9-5 advantage in total team blocks.

Sophomore Mallory Leitner led Concordia with 19 kills and hit .429. The 19 kills and attack percentage are the top numbers in conference play for Leitner.

Senior Kaia Lill put together her best performance of the season just when the Cobbers needed it most. Lill put up a career-high 58 assists. It is the second time this season, and fifth in her career that she has eclipsed the 50-assist mark. Lill has 871 assists on the season, which is second-best in the conference.

Madison Kisch came through with four blocks and eight kills. Brook Carney, Hannah Keil and Maria Watt all finished with a double-digit kill total. Carney had 14 winners, while Keil added 13 and Watt had 12.

Senior Chloe Markovic recorded a team-high 29 digs, which is one shy of her season-best total. Markovic has 383 digs for the season. That mark places her fifth in the MIAC this season.

UP NEXT: Concordia will have little time to enjoy the clutch win as they will host Augsburg on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 3 p.m. The Auggies are in fourth place in the MIAC and swept Carleton on Friday.    

CONCORDIA vs. BETHEL HIGHLIGHTS: