CU Nets Fifth Straight Win in Warner Pacific Sweep
PORTLAND, Ore.— Nearly matching a season high with a .347 hitting percentage, Concordia defeated Warner Pacific 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-17) in Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball action on Friday night.
With the result, CU improved to 11-6 on the year and 8-2 in the CCC while Warner Pacific fell to 7-9 overall and 3-7 in league play.
The opening game featured eight ties with the final even score occurring at 13-13 before the Cavaliers went on a five-point run. The Knights were able to close the gap to two on three occasions, including two via Emily Damschen (Castle Rock, Wash.) kills, but CU would maintain the lead to finally close out the game25-22 on a Raluca Dinca (Portland, Ore.) kill.
Behind five kills from Erika Doremus (Port Orchard, Wash.) the Cavs hit .440 as a team in the second for the 25-16 win to take the commanding 2-0 lead. In the third, Concordia slightly upped its attack rate to .444 as Mariana Toscano (Portland, Ore.) came up with four kills in the deciding game.
Dinca, Doremus and Toscano each reached double figures in kills with Dinca recording a match-high 12 terminations. Leah Gradwohl (Salem, Ore.) led the Knights with eight kills while teammates Megan Marineau (Portland, Ore.) and Claire Van Meer (Abbotsford, B.C.) each added six.
CU’s Skyler Kamaka averaged more than 12 assists per game with a match-high 37 assists while Kim Lindow (Gresham, Ore.) snared 20 digs to post a match best.
Melita Elliot (Estacada, Ore.) edged teammate Whitney Valenta (Spanaway, Wash.) 16-to-13 to lead the Knights in assists. Caitlyn McCall (Gresham, Ore.) came up with 14 digs for a team high.