Jenessa Taylor's 58 assists were one shy of the CCC single-match high for the season.
Taylor leads Cavs past Tech
PORTLAND, Ore. – Days removed from a road win at Oregon Tech, the Concordia University volleyball team eliminated the Hustlin' Owls from the CCC Tournament with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-16, 27-29, 25-20) Tuesday night.
With the win, No. 24-ranked Concordia (18-8) will advance to play the No. 13-ranked and No. 2-seeded Southern Oregon University on Friday, Nov. 15. The two teams split its two regular season matchups after recently battling to a five-set thriller in Ashland, Ore., on Nov. 7 with the Raiders protecting their home court.
Opening tipoff is set for 4 p.m. in La Grande, Ore. as the No. 1-seeded Mountaineers of Eastern Oregon University will host the final three matches with the winner earning the league's automatic berth into the NAIA National Championships.
The No. 6 seed in the CCC Tournament, Oregon Tech season comes to an end with a 21-14 overall record.
The Cavaliers (18-8) displayed a penchant for strong play in crucial moments in beating the Hustlin' Owls for the third time this season. The Cavs took a tight first set 25-23 thanks to three kills each from
Brianna Hogan (Portland, Ore./Centennial H.S.),
Nicole Barth (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview H.S.) and
Lindsey Dorsey (Salem, Ore./Sprague H.S.).
The second set proved to be the quickest, as Concordia erased an early 3-0 hole to pull away 25-16, leading by a margin of as many as 10 points in the process. Hogan and
Brenna Huwe (Troutdale, Ore./Reynolds H.S.) both contributed four kills, while Taylor had 18 assists as the Cavaliers went up 2-0.
Neither side led by more than five points in the third set, which was more indicative of the competitiveness of the match. Concordia looked to be in control early, as the Owls had to repeatedly come from behind to tie the score.
However, the Cavaliers never managed to quite put OIT away, and it ended up costing them. After pulling even at 20, the Owls took their first lead at 21-20 as the teams traded scores back and forth to eventually extend the set past the 25-point mark. At 27-all, OIT finally managed to string two points in a row with a Mykala Rubey kill and a CU attacking error for the 29-27 win.
The fourth set was another nail biter, featuring 10 ties and six lead changes. Momentum swung back and forth precipitously, with neither team able to take a lead of more than two until the Cavaliers scored four straight to lead 18-13. OIT couldn't manage to come all the way back this time, and Concordia won 25-20 to take the match 3-1.
"I felt like tonight we didn't start with any urgency," said head coach
Melanie Hambelton. "We got down in set one and I felt like we just struggled to catch our rhythm."
With the win, her 108th of her career, Hambelton moved into a tie with Christopher Duenow for most victories by a Cavaliers coach.
Concordia hit .198 for the match, compared to .112 for OIT. Taylor finished with 58 assists for the Cavs, who had three players – Hogan, Barth and Dorsey – notch double-digit kills.