NCAA TOURNAMENT INFORMATION:

NCAA Tournament Journal: Road To The NCAA Playoffs

NCAA Tournament Bracket: NCAA DIII Volleyball Bracket

NCAA Region Website: NCAA Central Region Website

MATCH REWIND:

Match Stats: Concordia vs. Loras Box Score - Now Online!

MATCH RECAP:

ST. PAUL, Minn. (11/13/08)--When Concordia needed someone up and take over the most, the call was answered in royal fashion. Freshman Greta King became the queen for a night as she put down a career-high 21 kills to help the Cobbers beat Loras College 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-22, 15-11) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. With the win, CC earns a spot in the second round for the fourth time in the past six seasons. The Cobbers will face UW-La Crosse who upset No.6-ranked St. Thomas 3-2. Concordia and La Crosse met in the 2003 national playoffs, the start of CC's six-season string, with the Eagles prevailing 3-1 at La Crosse.

Concordia (21-5) had to rally from a 2-1 deficit to come up with the win. To make matters worse, the Cobbers were down 10-5 and then 15-10 at points in the fourth set. CC rattled off six straight points in the decisive fourth set and went on to win 25-22. Concordia then used a mini-spurt at the end of the fifth set to win 15-11.

King was the story of the match for Concordia. She entered the match having only recorded double-digit kill totals in two matches this year. She opened the match by winning six of the Cobbers' first seven points and kept rolling from that point forward. She finished with a career-high 21 kills to go along with five digs and a block. King had help from a trio of freshman teammates. Jenna Green shook off a muscle strain in her stomach and came up with 18 kills. She played sparingly in the first set but then reached down and became a difference maker in the final four sets. She had several thunder kills and helped the defense contain Loras' high-powered offense. Green added 11 digs and also four blocks. Katie Vohnoutka completed the trio of first-year standouts. She had 10 kills and added another dimension to the CC defense that kept the defense from singling out King or Green. Setter Amy Sykora led the Concordia offense throughout the final four sets and came away with 42 assists. That total is two shy of her career best which she set against Colorado College - a team that also posted a win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Sykora was able to feed King and Green throughout the match and put them in perfect spots to allow the CC front line to produce winner after winner.

Senior Anna Tinkham played solidly throughout the match and kept the Duhawk's front line players from getting a good look at the open court behind CC's blockers. Tinkham came away with 22 digs.

Loras (32-5) had three players in double-digit kill totals. Sophomore Kate Russell, who transferred from Xavier and helped the Musketeers to a spot in the NCAA Division I playoffs last season while playing in every game for Xavier and being named to the Atlantic-10 All-Rookie Team, had a team-high 20 kills. It was her third straight match with at least 20 kills. Danielle Lewis added 13 winners and Betsy Nevermann had 10. Senior Jenny Dziubla posted a match-high 47 assists. Dziubla, the IIAC MVP this season and three-time All-IIAC performer finished her career by adding nine digs and three blocks. Loras libero Morgan Murphy had a match-high 24 digs in the losing effort.

The two teams traded stellar hitting performances in the first two sets and then slowed to a more consistent pace. Concordia hit .179 in the first set and then .324 for the second while Loras reversed that by hitting .351 in the first set and .159 in the second. In the final two sets, the Cobbers were able to hold a decisive edge over the Duhawks. CC hit .189 in the fourth set as opposed to only .091 for Loras. Concordia then saved their best attacking percentage for last as they hit .348 in the tie-breaking fifth set. The Duhawks were only able to manage a .182 percentage in the final set.

Concordia will square off against UW-La Crosse in the second round on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. at St. Thomas. The match can be heard live at: www.cord.edu/dept/sports/broadcast.php. The Cobbers and Eagles have faced each other seven times in the series history with La Crosse holding a 6-1 edge.