Freshman Brenna Huwe hit .417 with six kills aganst Lewis & Clark on Wednesday.
Cavs Power Past Pioneers for Third Straight Sweep
PORTLAND, Ore.--Putting together their best offensive performance of the season, Concordia defeated crosstown rival Lewis & Clark College 3-0 for its third straight sweep.
With the win, Concordia improved to 5-2 on the season while the visiting Pioneers fell to 0-5.
In the opening set, the Pioneers grabbed an early 4-1 lead thanks to successful strikes from Kataleya Milan and Isabel Valentine, however, the Cavaliers responded to tie the set at 6-6 early kills from
Melanie Miller (Hillsboro, Ore./Liberty H.S.) and
Mariah Raudsepp (Dundee, Ore./C.S. Lewis Academy).
The teams traded points with five more ties in the set, eventually squaring the frame at 12-12. From that point, CU's
Amanda Goringe (Aloha, Ore./Aloha H.S.) took over with five kills and a pair of blocks as the Cavs finished the set with a 13-3 run.
Like the previous set, round No. 2 played close early with the teams knotted ay 11-11 before a strong Cavalier push. Using five service aces and kills from six different players, CU ran away from the Pios with a second 25-15 win.
After holding Lewis & Clark to a .175 hitting percentage in the first and down to .065 in the second, the Concordia defense improved yet again in the finale by holding the Pioneers to a match-low .29 rate. Meanwhile, Concordia managed to hit .394 with
Jackie Stein (Portland, Ore./Westview H.S.) and
Brenna Huwe (Troutdale, Ore./Reynolds H.S.) combining for nine of the team's 16 kills.
Overall, CU outhit Lewis & Clark .396 to .094 with Goringe and Stein leading the way with nine kills each. Playing just the first two sets,
Lindsay Mangan (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina H.S.) tied for a match-high with 23 assists while teammate Janessa Taylor added 13 assists in the third set.
Shantel Gritsch (Gresham, Ore./Clackamas H.S.) led the Cavs with 10 digs.
Milan led Lewis & Clark with 10 kills while Alexe Navarro reached for a match-high 20 digs.
Concordia returns to action on Friday when it travels to Evergreen State to open its 2012 Cascade Collegiate Conference schedule. The Cavs will stay in Washington for a Saturday match against Northwest University before heading home to host Saint Martin's University on Tuesday, Sept. 10.