Match 1 Stats vs. Buena Vista - Now Online!

Match 2 Stats vs. Central - Now Online!

WAVERLY, Iowa-- Concordia started slow and finished with fortitude in the first day of the annual Minnesota/Iowa Border Battle Tournament at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. The Cobbers dropped the first game of their first match but then went on to claim a 3-1 (26-30, 30-23, 30-20, 30-27) victory over Buena Vista. In the second match at the tournament that brings the top teams from the MIAC and the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) together, Concordia had to hold off a hard-charging Central team and fight for a 3-2 (32-30, 30-24, 29-31, 21-30, 15-13) win.

Last year the Cobbers won the tournament, going 4-0. The tournament title helped Concordia go on to claim the MIAC tournament title and gain a spot in the national playoffs. Hoping to follow the same script, the 2005 Cobbers couldn't overcome their "bus legs" in the first game of their match with Buena Vista. After dropping the opening game 30-26, Concordia slowly worked out the kinks and rattled off three straight games to come away with the 3-1 victory.

The frontline tandem of Becca Shane and Danielle Norby did most of the damage for the Cobbers. Shane finished with a team-high 15 kills to go along with a match-high six blocks. Norby contributed 14 kills. The setting duo of Jill Hance and Alyssa Dahl posted 49 assists. Hance had 27 and Dahl added 22. Anna Walden led the Concordia defense with 21 digs, and Michelle Honek had 19 digs to go along with six kills and two blocks.

As a team, the Concordia limited Buena Vista to a .087 attack percentage and 55 kills. The Cobbers hit .200 and had 58 kills.

The second match against Simpson might be one of the turning points in the season for the inexperienced Cobber team. After reeling off two wins in the first two games against the Dutch, Concordia watched as Central methodically clawed their way back to tie the match at 2-2. Having only played in one, five-game match all season (a 3-2 loss at Carleton), the Cobber team that features six freshman in the playing rotation, showed their resiliency by overcoming the two-game nightmare and edging Central 15-13 in the fifth game.

Four different Concordia players recorded kill totals in double digits against the Dutch as the Cobbers spread out their offensive attack. Shane led the team in kills for the second straight match of the tournament. She had 11 kills. Honek, Lindsay Sipma and Kristen Hokenstad all had 10 kills each. Sipma also finished with a team-high .320 attacking percentage.

Hance and Dahl switched their roles from the first match. Dahl  had a team-high 27 assists and Hance finished with 23 as the two combined for 50 assists in the five-game affair.

Honek and Walden were once again the defensive leaders. Honek amassed 23 digs and Walden was close behind with 20.

Concordia was outhit by Central. The Cobbers hit .137, while the Dutch finished with an attacking percentage of .185.

The Cobbers will finish the tournament on Saturday, Oct. 8 when they play Cornell at 9:00am and host Wartburg at 1:00pm.