Cobbers Fall Twice On Season-Opening Saturday

PELLA, Iowa (8/31/24)---Concordia had strong sets in each of their first two matches of the 2024 season but couldn't overcome the solid offensive attacks of Fontbonne (Mo.)  and Central (Iowa) and lost twice at the Central Tournament. The Cobbers fell 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-16) in the opener against the Griffins and then lost 3-0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-10) to the Dutch.

Concordia 0, Fontbonne 3
The Cobbers battled through the first set and were tied at 17-17 before Fontbonne was able to rattle off seven straight points to grab a 24-17 lead. CC rallied to win three consecutive points before the Griffins closed out the opener with a kill.

Concordia was never able to get within three points in the back half of either the second or third sets and lost 25-18 and 25-16.

The Cobbers' best attack set came in the middle bout where they hit .132. CC hit .111 in the opener and .000 in the final set and finished the match with a .077 attack percentage.

Fontbonne held a 39-28 edge in kills while the Cobbers came away with a 5-2 advantage in team blocks.

First-year outside hitter Cayla Sailer led Concordia's offense with 12 kills in 31 total attacks. She also had a team-high 13 digs and posted one solo block.

Junior Mallory Leitner had six kills and a pair of digs. Anna Knain posted a team-high 17 assists.   

Concordia 0, Central 3
It took the Cobbers a set to get into their second match of the day. CC lost 25-14 in the opener while hitting -.103.

Concordia rallied in the second set and came away with their best bout of the opening day. The second set was tied at 11-11 and 17 as the two teams went back-and-forth. CC rallied from a 22-18 deficit to get to within one point at 22-21 before Central claimed the next two points to take a 24-21. Concordia showed its early-season character by winning three straight to force extra points at 24-24. Unfortunately for the Cobbers, the rally ended there and they lost 26-24.

Concordia hit .125 in the second and finished the match with a .000 attack percentage. They came away with 24 kills as opposed to 38 for the Dutch who hit .356.

Leitner matched her kill total from the first match and led CC with six winners. She also posted a team-high .231 attack percentage.

Maria Watt and Lexi Lohman both added five kills. Knain posted 10 assists and Avery Templin recorded a team-high 10 digs.          

Concordia will head back to Iowa next weekend to take part in the Coe Invite in Cedar Rapids.