Jackie Stein (13) had eight kills for Concordia in the team's first match at the Biola Summer Slam on Friday.
Concordia Volleyball Falls in Biola Doubleheader
BOX SCORE -
Concordia vs. Vanguard
BOX SCORE -
Concordia vs. The Master's College
LA MIRADA, CALIF.—The Concordia volleyball team faced another stiff day of competition at the Biola Summer Slam, losing two matches to No. 10 Vanguard and The Master’s College on Friday.
Concordia began action against Vanguard and won the first set before losing the match 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-20). The Cavaliers then returned to face The Master’s College in the evening, losing 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-19).
"We played well in spurts, but we were also inconsistent at times," said CU head coach Melanie Hambelton. "We definitely have work to do, but I believe we have what it takes to do well in the Cascade Collegiate Conference."
The matches dropped the Cavs to 1-4 on the season. Concordia will return to action with a scrimmage against Mt. Hood Community College at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 28. The Cavs will then follow that scrimmage with their first conference match of the season at Northwest Christian on Friday, August 31. That match will begin at 7 p.m.
GAME 1—No. 10 Vanguard def. Concordia 3-1
Concordia dropped their third match against a ranked opponent at the Biola Summer Slam, losing 3-1 to the No. 10-ranked Vanguard Lions in the morning on Friday.
Concordia played its best set in the first when it came back from an early deficit to top the Lions 25-23. The Lions ran out to a 12-5 lead early in the first, but the Cavs immediately responded with an 8-2 run to cut the Lions’ lead to one at 14-13. The Cavs’ Lindsey Montgomery led the team’s comeback with three kills during the Cavs’ run.
The Lions did not fade after the run though, and took back the lead at 20-17.
The Cavs proved resilient themselves, however, as they scored seven of the next eight points in the match to go up 24-21. Melanie Miller led the way this time for the Cavs, recording three kills, including the final point of the rally that gave Concordia its first set point.
The Lions scored the next two points after the Cavs’ run to tighten the set, but a final kill from the Cavs’ Mariah Raudsepp closed out the set for Concordia.
Overall, the Cavs outhit the Lions .238-to-.143 in the first set.
Unfortunately for the Cavs, the Lions picked up their attack after the first, hitting .455 in the second set with 18 kills against only three errors. The Lions’ improved attack let the team separate themselves from the Cavs in the latter half of the second set, despite Concordia’s own strong second-set performance.
Vanguard followed the second with another strong set in the third, but then had to fight off a game Concordia attack in the fourth.
Vanguard took an early lead at 14-9 in the fourth, only to have Concordia level the match at 15-15 with a 6-1 CU run. The Lions responded right back with a 9-3 run though, which gave them a 24-18 lead and essentially ended the Cavs’ chances in the match.
Overall, Montgomery led the Cavs with 13 kills in the match, while Raudsepp finished second on the team with 10 kills. Behind them, Miller and Jackie Stein each tied for third on the team with eight kills apiece.
CU setter Lindsay Mangan, meanwhile, had another strong all-around performance, recording 40 assists, nine digs, six assists and a .667 hitting percentage in the match.
GAME 2—The Master’s College def. Concordia 3-0
Concordia then followed the loss to Vanguard with a tough match against a red hot Master’s College team that entered the match unbeaten.
The Cavaliers started strong against the Mustangs though, running out to an early 5-3 lead in the first set.
However, the Mustangs started asserting themselves from there and used a 10-2 run in the middle of the first to take control. Concordia tightened the set a little later, but the Mustangs held on to win the first set 25-19.
The Mustangs followed that with a strong second set in which they never trailed, putting the Cavs in a 2-0 hole through the first two sets.
Concordia responded well to the two-set deficit at the start of the third and even led 19-17 late. However, the Mustangs got hot again after that, running off eight points in a row to close out the Cavs in three sets.
Overall, The Master’s College outhit the Cavs .322-to-.133.
Individually, Lindsey Montgomery, Mariah Raudsepp and Melanie Miller all finished with a team-high seven kills in the match.
Lindsay Mangan, meanwhile, had 26 assists in the match, while libero Kelsey Kai had 15 digs.