Something To Build On

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. (8/30/14)—Concordia saved its best for last on the opening weekend of the 2014 season. The Cobbers picked up the only victory against WIAC rival UW-Eau Claire to go 1-3 at the nationally-ranked rich St. Ben's Labor Day Tournament.

Concordia lost 3-0 to No.3-ranked UW-Stevens Point in the tournament opener. CC then fell 3-2 to Northwestern in the second match on Friday. The Cobbers were blanked 3-0 vs. UW-Platteville in the first match on Saturday before posting a 3-1 win over Eau Claire.

Olivia Wangensteen and Vanessa Johnson paced the Cobbers on the weekend. Wangensteen was named to the All-Tournament as she came away with 32 kills, nine service aces, 37 digs and four blocks for the four-match invite. Johnson, playing in her first collegiate matches, led Concordia in kills with 38 and also had a .240 attack percentage.

Wangensteen had double-digit kill totals against Northwestern and UW-Eau Claire while Johnson had a dozen winners vs. Platteville and a weekend-high 16 kills against Eau Claire.  

The win over Eau Claire on Saturday was won on defense where the Cobbers limited the Blugolds to a .097 attack percentage and only gave up 26 kills in their three set wins in the match.

The most heart-breaking match of the weekend came against Northwestern (Minn.) in the final contest on Friday. The Cobbers held a 24-21 lead in the fourth set and had three consecutive match points only to see the Eagles rally to score five straight points, tie the match at 2-2 and then claim the win with a 15-4 victory in the fifth set.

Jena Klaphake was in charge of steering the CC offense and came away with a team-high 48 assists. She also had 29 digs for the weekend. Kynndyl Ross, Kelly Reed and Anna Skow-Anderson had at least 20 kills each over the weekend. The trio combined for 71 winners on the weekend.

Concordia will play a non-conference match at Valley City State on Tuesday, Sept. 2 before heading to the Bethel Invitational on Friday, Sept. 5 and Saturday, Sept. 6.