PORTLAND, Ore.—In an early battle for position in the CCC standings, Concordia outlasted Northwest 3-2 (27-25, 18-25, 25-19, 29-31, 15-13) in a five-set battle to defend its home court on Friday.

 

With the result of the 2 hour, 20 minute match, Concordia improved to 8-6 overall and 4-2 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Northwest fell to 8-5 overall and 3-3 in league play.

 

Facing set-point with the score 24-21 in the opener, Concordia scored four straight points, two of which came via kills from Clair Thiel (Oak Harbor, Wash./Oak Harbor H.S.),  to reverse the settings to an opportunity for CU to clinch. Up 25-24, a service error squared the set at 25 before a Raluca Dinca (Portland, Ore./Rex Putnam H.S.) and an attacking error settled the set at 27-25.

 

Determined not to go down 2-0, the Eagles hit a match-best .355 in the second to claim the 25-18 win. Kacie Simpson (Renton, Wash./Kentridge H.S.) led Northwest with five kills while the team benefitted from five aces, including two from Heather Shulke (Castle Rock, Wash.).

 

Trailing 11-6 in the third, Concordia used a 7-2 run to march back and tie the set at 13-13 before taking its first lead on the next point off a Thiel kill. The two teams traded points until CU notched the final five for the 25-19 win

 

Despite facing set point on four occasions, the Eagles overcame six serving errors to steal a win 31-29 win in the fourth to once again even the match. NU’s Lauren Holtz (Brier, Wash./Inglemoor H.S.) came up with match-saving kills with the Eagles trialing 24-23 and 27-26. Molly Boyle (Ridgefield, Wash./Ridgefield H.S.) would eventually end the epic set with a kill with an assist from Lauryn Ernster (Bothell, Wash./Bothell H.S.).

 

The fifth set continued with the dramatics. CU opened with a 5-1 lead with kills from Dinca, Thiel and Lindsay Mangan (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina H.S.), but Northwest stormed back to even the decisive set at 7-7.  

  

Back-to-back Dinca kills gave CU a three-point lead with the score resting at 10-7, but once again the visitors refused to accommodate as the Eagles forced the Cavs into a pair of attacking errors and added an ace from Shulke to balance the set at 12-12. After trading points for a 13-13 score, Melanie Miller (Hillsboro, Ore./Liberty H.S.), at the most pivotal point of the match, came through with her second kill to push the Cavs back into a position for the win. Avoiding extending the set, CU’s Erika Doremus (Port Orchard, Wash./South Kitsap H.S.) ended the affair with her 16th kill of the match.

 

Overall, CU held a slight .181 to .178 edge in hitting while the Eagles enjoyed a 16-7 advantage in blocks. The Eagles tallied 12 aces but were sabotaged by 16 service errors. Meanwhile, Concordia suffered from 11 service errors while only generating a single ace.

 

Dinca led the floor with 19 kills while Thiel tied Doremus with 16. Mangan pulled out a career-best 56 assists in the match and added 11 digs. Dinca, a senior hitter, registered a career-best 25 digs in the contest which also posed as a match-high. Concordia finished with a 90-77 lead in digs.

 

Holtz led the Eagles with 16 kills against three errors for a .310 hitting percentage. Boyle also reached double figures in kills with 10 terminations versus two errors for a .400 hit rate. Ernster finished with 45 assists and a team-high 21 digs. Five different NU players had at least four block assists with Stoker leading the way with eight assisted blocks and a solo.

 

Concordia returns to action on Saturday by hosting Evergreen State while Northwest will stay in Portland to face Warner Pacific. Both matches are slated for a 7 p.m. start.