Cobbers Are Aces On Day 1 In Eau Claire

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (9/15/23)---Concordia opened the Sandy Schumacher Tournament, hosted by Wis.-Eau Claire, in dominant fashion as they swept Beloit (25-6, 25-10, 25-4) in the opener and cruised past Buena Vista (25-21, 13-25, 25-20, 25-16) in match No.2.

The Cobbers posted an eye-opening 31 service aces in the two matches.

The two wins up the Cobbers' win streak to three matches and pushed their overall season record to 7-3. It's the first time that CC has been four matches above the .500 mark since the end of the 2015 season.

Concordia vs. Beloit
The Cobbers started slowly against Beloit but went on an 18-0 run to close out the first set and never looked back. The teams traded points to start the match, with Concordia holding a 1-point lead at 7-6. That's when the wheels fell off the cart for the Buccaneers. CC rattled off 18 straight points to take a 25-6 set win. The Cobbers used that momentum to record six of the first seven points in the second set. They widened the lead to 13 points at 15-2 and coasted to the 15-point win. The final set was more of the same, with Concordia getting out to a 15-2 lead and then outscoring Beloit 10-2 in the last 12 points.

Concordia hit at least .375 in all three sets and finished with a ridiculous .714 attack percentage in the final set. CC hit a season-high .473 for the match and held a 30-10 advantage in kills.

The Cobbers' serving game was on fire during the three sets. CC finished with a season-high 15 service aces, the most in a single match since the middle of the 2018 season.

Junior Hannah Keil was the leader of the ace patrol. She came away with a career-high six service aces. Sophomore Anna Knain had a career-high three aces, while Kaia Lill and Brook Carney had two winners each.

Maria Watt was the only Concordia with more than six kills. She finished with 10 winners and hit .750. Carney had six kills, while Mallory Leitner and Lauren Bangs both had four kills and hit .800.

Lill and Knain combined for 25 assists, and Markovic and Carney had five digs each.

Concordia vs. Buena Vista
The Cobbers did their ace total one better in the second match against Buena Vista. CC put up 16 service aces on their way to their 3-1 win. The only hiccup on Day of the tournament came in the second set when Concordia let the Beavers turn an 8-8 tie game into a 19-9 lead by posting an 11-1 run.

The Cobbers responded in set No.3 by going on a 7-1 streak after the set was tied at 15-15. That 6-point advantage helped CC go up 2-1 and carry the momentum into the final set – a set they would never trail in.

Markovic led the 16-ace attack as she recorded five winners. The Cobbers had six different players register aces in the match.

Carney led all CC players with 13 kills. Lill added 25 assists, and Markovic had a team-high 14 digs.

UP NEXT: Concordia will finish the Sandy Schumacher Tournament with two more matches on Saturday. CC will face Concordia (Wis.) at 10 a.m. and end the weekend against St. Norbert (Wis.) at 2 p.m.