MATCH SCOREBOARD:

Team	Gm 1	Gm 2	Gm 3	Gm4
	30	30	28	30
	15	19	30	21

MATCH REWIND:

Match Stats: Final Stats vs. Gustavus - Online!

MATCH RECAP:

ST. PETER, Minn. (10/13/06)-- Concordia took one step closer to their first-ever MIAC regular season championship on Friday night as they hammered their way past Gustavus 3-1 (30-15, 30-19, 28-30, 30-21).

The win pushes the Cobbers' conference record to 8-0 on the year and they need only one more victory to clinch at least a share of the regular season championship. The win is also the 12th straight for Concordia and bumps their overall record to 19-1. That ties the record for the best mark to start the season. In 2004, the Cobbers also started 19-1 but then lost their next two matches.

The loss drops Gustavus one more rung under the Cobbers. Heading into the match, the Gusties were 6-1 and clinging to the hope of beating Concordia and getting into a tie for first place. Gustavus is now 6-2 in conference play and 15-8 overall. They have now dropped four straight matches.

The Cobbers left little doubt right from the start of game 1. Concordia opened the match on a 10-3 run and never looked back.

They followed the same formula in game 2, cruising to a 4-1 start and then finished the game by winning 16 of the final 24 points.

Gustavus was able to pull away in the end of game 3 to secure a 30-28 win, but then the Cobbers once again used their early-game magic to turn a 9-8 thriller into a 17-10 repeat of the first two games.

In the end, junior Michelle Honek finished with a match-high 19 kills as three players finished with at least ten kills. Surprisingly, senior All-American Becca Shane was not one of the three players with double-digit kill totals. She finished with nine kills - only the third time all season that she has not had at least ten kills in a match.

Honek was joined by Lindsay Sipma and Angie Bonde as the Cobber kill leaders. Sipma had 14 kills and Bonde added 10.

Sophomore Katlin Anderson had a team-high 27 assists. Jill Hance helped out with 25 assists but also had a very good match serving the ball and finished with a match-high four service aces.

Senior Anna Walden once again led the defense. She had 21 digs and also recorded two service winners.

Concordia will finish off their two-match road trip when they play at St. Olaf on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 3 p.m. A victory over the Oles would clinch at least a share of the coveted regular season title for the Cobbers.