Saving The Best For Last

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (9/16/17)---Concordia saved its best for last as the Cobbers rallied from a 1-0 deficit and outlasted Lakeland (Wis.) 3-2 (17-25, 25-19, 25-19, 19-25, 15-12) in the final match of the Wis.-Eau Claire Nike Eastbay Fall Classic.

Concordia finished with a 1-3 record at the tournament and had a pair of five-set matches to start and end the weekend which bookended two tough matches in the middle.

Cobber freshman Faith Anderson had 24 kills in the final two matches of the weekend and was named to the All-Tournament Team. She was one of four Cobber players with at least 24 kills in the four matches.  

The Cobbers weren't able to start the tournament the way they finished as they dropped a 3-2 (25-19, 19-25, 26-24, 22-25, 12-15) decision to St. Scholastica on Friday. The trio of Emily Friedrich, Brianna Carney and Haley Cuppett paced the Concordia offense as they all had at least 14 ills in the match.

Jill Klaphake came away with a team-high 29 assists, Stephanie Baker added 19 digs and Emma Chandler recorded four blocks.

Concordia stumbled in the middle two matches, dropping 3-0 decisions to the University of Chicago and then to host Eau Claire. The Cobbers lost 25-16 and 25-15 in the first two sets as they had to turn around and play directly after the five-set thriller with St. Scholastica. The Cobbers finally found their offensive stride in the third set but it was too late and they fell 28-26.

Cuppett led all CC players with seven winners, while Klaphake dished out 13 assists and Casey Coste came away with a team-high 10 digs.

Concordia started Saturday by losing 25-21, 25-18, 25-21 to the Blugolds. Once again points eluded the Cobbers at key points in the three sets and they lost for the second straight match.

Anderson led Concordia with 10 kills in the match and hit .179 which is the second highest total of her freshman season. She also added four digs.

Cuppett had eight winners and Lexi Turn came away with a team-best 15 assists. Coste notched her second straight double-digit dig total with 12 and Carney and Chandler each chipped in with three blocks.

Against Lakeland in the finale, Concordia increased their attack percentage in each set and finished with a tournament high .318 mark in the fifth set. CC hit .150 for the match which was their second highest total for the tournament.

Anderson once again led the team in kills. She put down a season-best 14 kills which is the second highest total by a Cobber this year. She was one of three CC players with at least 10 winners in the match. Carney recorded 11 and Cuppett added 10.   

Klaphake and Turn combined for 41 assists while Coste had a career-best 17 digs. Carney had six blocks while Chandler and freshman Alicia Louters added five blocks each.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Hanna Albers – Gustavus
Faith Anderson - Concordia-Moorhead
Shannon Bishop – Lakeland
Emma Griffith - Chicago
Nora Holtan – Gustavus
Kate Holtan – Gustavus
Sarah Muisenga – Chicago
Mady Pashibin - Wis.-Eau Claire

HALEY'S COMET: Haley Cuppett leads Concordia in kills this season with 91. She has had at least 10 kills in all but three matches this year. Cuppett now has 344 career kills.

BLOCK PARTY: Concordia had 12 blocks as a team against Lakeland which is the second highest total of the season.  The Cobbers are now 2-0 on the year when they have at least 10 team blocks in a match.   

DIG THAT: Freshman Casey Coste had at least 1 digs in all four matches at the tournament. Her 17-dig performance against Lakeland is a career high and she now has 60 digs for the season.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will step back in to conference play when they travel to St. Paul to take on Macalester on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. The Scots are 5-9 on the year and have yet to play an MIAC match.