Match Stats vs. Bethel - Now Online!

ST. PAUL, Minn.-- On a night where the top teams in the MIAC all won handily, 12th-ranked Concordia swept Bethel 3-0 (32-30, 30-24, 30-23) to remain at the top of the conference standings.

The Cobbers are now 5-2 in league play and remain in a tie for fourth place, only one-half game behind third place. Three teams in the MIAC have two conference losses while Carleton remained in second place with one loss and St. Thomas remains atop the conference with a perfect 8-0 record.

The win also pushes the Cobbers overall mark to 18-2, which is the best mark in the conference. Concordia has now won its last eight matches. Bethel, who entered the game with only two league losses falls into sixth place with a 4-3 MIAC mark. The Royals are now 14-6 overall.

Concordia junior All-American Becca Shane had another monster match for the Cobbers. She finished with match highs in kills and blocks. She had 18 blocks in the three-game match and added six blocks.

She now has 989 kills in her career and needs 11 more to become only the ninth player in Cobber volleyball history to reach the 1,000-kill plateau. Shane also leads the MIAC in blocks per game and is ranked 18th in the nation in that statistical category.

The opening game of the match was the closest of the three as the two teams traded points throughout the contest. Bethel jumped to a 10-7 lead before Concordia rallied to take seven of the next eight points and build a three-point lead of their own at 14-11. Bethel countered and the teams were deadlocked at 27-27 before the Cobbers rattled off the next two points and had a pair of game points leading 29-27. The Royals saved off both game points and tied the score at 29-29. After trading points, a kill by senior Mackenzie Close and a blocking error by Bethel allowed Concordia to take the opening game and seize control of the match.

The second game was following along at the same rate as the first as the teams traded points until they both reached the 20's. After Bethel brought the lead to within one at 21-20, Concordia went on a 5-0 run to put distance between themselves and the Royals and went on to claim the second game 30-24.

The third game was all Concordia as the Cobbers bolted out of the gate and grabbed a 10-1 lead. Bethel rallied and got as close as 14-12 but a late 9-5 run by Concordia allowed the Cobbers to pull away with a seven-point win.

A pair of newcomers helped Shane establish the Cobber attack at the net. Kristen Hokenstad finished with nine kills and had an attacking percentage of .389. Danielle Norby had eight kills and came up with five blocks.

Jill Hance had 25 assists for Concordia to lead the Cobber offensive attack. She was joined by settermate Alyssa Dahl as Concordia continues to use both freshmen to run the offense. Dahl added 17 assists, one kills and two digs.

Three Concordia defenders recorded dig totals in double-digits. Anna Walden led all players with 21 digs. Michelle Honek had 12 digs to go along with four kills, and Emily Gilbertson chipped in 10 digs and one assist.

As a team Concordia hit .246 and came up with 12 team blocks. They also limited Bethel to an attacking percentage of .133.

Concordia will return home to host a pair of matches this weekend. The Cobbers will play Gustavus on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7:00pm, and then turnaround and play St. Olaf on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 3:00pm. Both matches will be played in Memorial Auditorium and both will go a long way in determining the playoff future for all three teams.