Kelsey Kai tied a conference match-high for digs in a three-set match with 25 against the Beacons on Saturday. Kai also had 24 digs in four sets against Corban on Friday, giving her an average of seven digs per set over the weekend.
Cavs Sweep NCU in Pivotal Conference Match
BOX SCORE - Concordia vs. Northwest Christian
PORTLAND, Ore.—In a crucial match as far as positioning in the CCC standings, the Concordia volleyball team swept Northwest Christian 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 29-27) on Saturday.
Concordia improves to 12-8 overall and 9-4 in the CCC with the win, and stays tied with Eastern Oregon for third in the conference. The win also puts the Cavs three games up on the Beacons in the CCC standings as the Beacons fall to seventh in the conference at 13-10 overall and 6-7 in the CCC.
Northwest Christian nearly avoided the sweep with a hard-fought third set. The Beacons held four set points in the third, putting them on the cusp of sending the match to a fourth set. Concordia erased all four set points, however, and then sealed the sweep with back-to-back kills from Jackie Stein and Amanda Goringe.
The Beacons first gained the upper hand late in the set with a 6-1 run that gave them a 22-20 lead. Concordia leveled the match at 22-22 with two straight points, but the Beacons followed with a kill from Chandler Gabrio and a service ace from Maren Mansfield to claim their first set point at 24-22.
Concordia leveled the match again at 24-24 however, off of back-to-back kills from Stein and Mariah Raudsepp. The Beacons’ Taylor Richardson recorded a kill on the next point to give her team its third set point, but another kill from Stein erased it once again.
Concordia then took its first lead late at 26-25, but back-to-back kills from the Beacons’ Tami Brown flipped the score in the Beacons’ favor at 27-26. That would be it for the Beacons, however, as Stein recorded kills on the next two points, giving way to Goringe, who finished the match with a final kill.
In the end, Stein had seven kills in the third set, four of which came after the Beacons held their first set point at 24-22.
Stein’s late-match heroics did not come out of nowhere however, as the freshman had six kills in the first set and five in the second to finish the match with 18 kills overall. That total sets a new conference match-high—Stein held the last one with 17 kills against Oregon Tech on Sept. 7—and, coincidentally, came on her 19th birthday.
Stein was not alone on Saturday however, as the Cavalier attack outhit the Beacons .266-to-.098 in the match.
Concordia played particularly well at the start of the match, as the Cavs ran out to a 9-2 lead at the start of the first set. The Beacons would get within five a bit later at 12-7, but the Cavs immediately answered with a 7-1 run to take full control at 19-8.
The Beacons came back with a much-improved second set, as the teams went back-and-forth in the early going. Eventually, a kill from NCU’s Janel Fetters brought the Beacons within one at 14-13, but that would spark a pivotal 5-1 CU run that would put the Cavs up 19-14. The teams then went back to the back-and-forth play that had started the set, which ultimately benefited the Cavs. In the end, the Beacons never got closer than three points in the rest of the set, while back-to-back service aces from the Cavs’ Shantel Gritsch eventually sealed the set win for Concordia.
Overall, Stein’s 18 kills led all attackers in the match, while the freshman also had a solo block and a block assist. Besides Stein, the Cavs’ Raudsepp had the next highest kill total with nine, followed closely by NCU’s Tami Brown with eight. Brown also had 10 digs in the match, leaving her only two kills shy of a double-double.
Meanwhile, Concordia setter Lindsay Mangan tied a personal-best for assists in a three-set match this season with 41 assists against the Beacons (her previous three-set match with 41 assists came against Oregon Tech on Sept. 7). On the flip side, Cori Wallace and Alyssa Dorr shared the setting responsibilities for the Beacons, with Wallace tallying 17 assists and Dorr 12.
In addition, Concordia libero Kelsey Kai tied a conference match-high for digs in a three-set match with 25 on Saturday. Kai’s 25 digs come a day after she had 24 digs in four sets against Corban, giving her an average of seven digs per set over the weekend. Meanwhile, NCU libero Dana McGowan also performed well for her team, finishing the match with 16 digs.
Both teams will return to action on Friday, Oct. 19. The Cavs will travel to face Evergreen State on that day, while the Beacons will host Oregon Tech. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m.