Cobbers Fall In Non-Conference Match At Minn.-Morris

MORRIS, Minn. (10/12/24)---Concordia lost its penultimate non-conference match of the season as they fell 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 27-25) at Minn.-Morris on Saturday.

The loss is the second straight for Concordia who are now 2-19 for the season. Morris moves to 10-9 on the year.

The Cobbers fell behind early in the first set, but then rallied to tie the opener at 16-16. CC trailed 7-2 before going on runs of 4-1 and 6-3 to tie the set. The Cougars won the next four points after the bout was tied at 16-16 and finished on a 9-4 stretch to capture the 5-point win.

Concordia never led in the second set but played their best volleyball of the match in the third. The Cobbers were able to take a 19-16 lead and it looked like they would be able to come away with the set win. CC also held 22-17 and 23-19 leads as they tried to get to within one set in the overall match.

Morris went on a 4-point run to tie the set at 23-23. A service error by the Cougars gave CC a 24-23 lead and a set point. Morris won two straight to take a 25-24 lead and Concordia was able to stave off the first match point with another service error from Morris. Unfortunately for the Cobbers, the match would end after the Cougars put down a pair of winners to take the 27-25 win.

The third set featured eight tie scores and four lead changes.  

The third set was also the Cobbers' best attacking set of the day. CC hit .154 and had 13 kills.

Concordia hit .068 and had 29 kills for the match, while Morris put down 42 winners and came away with a .242 attack percentage.

Mallory Leitner led Concordia with nine kills in 29 total attacks. Maria Watt had eight winners and hit a team-high .333.         

Betsy Schiltz posted a team-high 20 assists and Kelsi Martini had 19 digs. The 19 digs are a season high for Martini.

Concordia will finish off its 3-match road trip with a pair of away contests next weekend. The Cobbers will play at Bethel on Friday, Oct. 25 and then at Augsburg on Saturday, Oct. 26.