Cobbers Fall Twice On Day 1 At Pointer Invitational

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (9/20/24)---Concordia lost a pair of 3-0 decisions on the opening day of the Wis.-Stevens Pt. Invitational.

The Cobbers fell 25-10, 25-20, 25-15 against the host Pointers and then dropped a 25-12, 25-11, 25-18 score line against Carthage (Wis.).

Concordia 0 at Wis.-Stevens Point 3
Concordia's best set of Day 1 came in the second set against Stevens Point in the opener. The Cobbers hit .105 and had nine kills as they battled the Pointers until the final points of the set. Concordia bolted out of the gate by scoring the first five points of the set, but then Stevens Point won seven of the next nine points to tie the bout at 7-7. The score was also tied at 10-10 before UWSP went on a 4-0 streak to seize the momentum. They pushed the margin to six points at 19-13 before the Cobbers rallied to score three straight points to finish at 25-20.

The Cobbers hit .011 against the Pointers in the first match on Friday. CC had 18 kills and 45 digs. Stevens Points finished with 42 winners and had a .236 attack percentage. They totaled 57 digs in the match.

Samantha VanHeel posted team-high numbers in kills and attack percentage. She recorded six winners and hit .118.

Mallory Leitner had five kills and hit .087. First-year setter Betsy Schiltz came away with 11 assists. Senior Elizabeth Naugle and Madalyn Anderson both posted double-digit dig totals. Naugle had 11 in the match and Anderson was one behind at 10.

Concordia 0 vs. Carthage (Wis.) 3
The Cobbers held 1-0 leads in the second and third sets against Carthage but couldn't sustain the momentum and lost in three. All three sets were won towards the middle of the bouts with the Firebirds using point streaks to pull away down the stretch.

Concordia's top set against Carthage came in the opener. The set was tied at 8-8 and CC only trailed 10-9 before Carthage won eight of nine points to take an 18-10 lead. The Cobbers hit .048 in the first set and had six kills.

Concordia finished the match with 16 winners and hit -.059. The Firebirds came away with 33 kills and hit .296. Cobber opponents have now hit above .200 in nine of the 11 matches this year and are hitting a combined total of .247.

VanHeel and Megan Olson were the CC leaders against Carthage. They both finished with four kills. Olson led the team with a .111 attack percentage and also had a team-high two blocks.

Schiltz posted 9 assists in the match and Naugle finished with seven digs.

Concordia will finish off the Wis.-Stevens Point tournament on Saturday, Sept. 21 with matches against St. Norbert and Lakeland.