MATCH RECAP:

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/23/07)-- If Tuesday's match with previously nationally-ranked Bethel was a pre-test for the upcoming MIAC Tournament, then consider Concordia well prepared and back on track to defend their conference playoff crown. The Cobbers edged past the Royals in the latter stages of all three games and came away with a 30-25, 30-21, 30-26 sweep in a match that lasted a little over an hour and 20 minutes.

The win washes away the bad taste left over from Saturday's 3-0 loss at the hands of Bethel. The victory pushes CC into sole possession of second place in the conference standings after St. Ben's was swept by regular-season champion St. Thomas on Tuesday. Concordia is now 16-6 overall and 8-2 in the MIAC. A win in their last match of the regular season against St. Ben's on Saturday would hand the Cobbers second place in the league and give them a first round bye and a home match in the semifinals of the MIAC Tournament which begins next Tuesday.

The loss is especially tough for the Royals who have now dropped three straight, and after starting the conference with a 5-0 record, have gone 1-4 in their last five MIAC matches and still have not secured a berth in the conference playoffs.

The Cobbers were pumped up by a pair of happenings from the very start of the match. First, lone senior Michelle Honek was honored before the match during the annual Senior Night celebration, and second, sophomore outside hitter Angie Bonde returned to the lineup after missing the past two matches to attend a family wedding.

With Bonde back in the mix and Honek energized to go out on a winning note, Concordia was able to seize control of the match after the opening game was tied at 15-15. The Cobbers went on a 5-1 run and then finished off the first game by outscoring the Royals 9-6 in the final 15 points to take a 30-25 victory.

The second game was more of the same as Concordia watched Bethel stay take a lead for the early stages of the game. Like the opener, CC rallied to tie the game at 15-15 and then used a 9-2 run to take complete control of the game, and the match.

The third game had little dramatis except for the very end when Concordia tried to wrap up the match. Leading 29-22, CC conceded three straight points and head coach Tim Mosser was forced to call a timeout just to rally the troops for the final point. The tactic ended up working two points later when sophomore Maggie Olson put the exclamation point on Senior Night by pounding down her ninth kill of the match to give CC the 30-26 victory.

One of the big stat differences in the game was from the service line where Concordia had nine service aces as compared to only three for Bethel. The Royals also committed service errors.

For the match, Concordia had 55 kills and had a gaudy attack percentage of .304. The Royals were held to 45 kills and only a .187 attack percentage.

Honek finished her regular-season career in Memorial Auditorium by coming away with 11 kills and 22 digs. Bonde brought her energy back to the lineup and recorded a match-high 16 kills to go along with 11 digs. They were the only two Cobbers in double digits for kill totals. Anna Tinkham continued to add to her school-record season dig total. She had 25 digs in the match and had a career-high seven service aces. Alyssa Dahl and Jill Hance once again helped the CC offense attack with power. Dahl had a team-high 23 assists and Hance added 21.

Amy Anderson led the Royals with 15 kills, while senior standout Liz Glesne was limited to 10 winners for the match. Laura Naig came away with a match-high 41 assists and Joslin Geisler had a match-high 26 digs.

Concordia will complete the regular season when they play at St. Ben's at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27. Depending upon the outcome of that match, Concordia will either host a first-round match on Tuesday, Oct. 30 or a semifinal match on Thursday, Nov. 1.