Denver, Colo. - the golden bears volleyball won again this evening by beating #25 west florida 3-0 (28-26, 28-26, 25-22). Concordia (5-1) was once again led by emily palkert and cassie haag, who each had double digit kills at 14 and 11 respectively. Kayla koenecke also had double digit kills at ten. It was the first loss of the season for west florida. Emily palkert became the fourth cu player to have 1,500 kills in her career. Concordia has now won 37 straight against ranked opponents.
amanda konetchy had 39 assists on the night and taylor fieldsted led the defense with ten digs. kara pioske and megan carlson each had six kills each. The golden bears hit at .297 clip while holding west florida to .231.
set one was close throughout once cu was able to come back from and early 10-5 deficit. Concordia took a 11-10 lead and there were many more ties and lead changes. Concordia has three chance at match point, failed three times. On the fourth chance megan carlson and the golden bears would not be denied winning the set 28-26.
the second set started a little differently for the golden bears as they jumped out early 5-1. West florida closed within one at 6-5, however cu was able to rattle off a few points and take a 11-6. The argonauts got within two at 14-12 but once again the golden bears extended the lead when they were challenged and took a 17-12 lead. Concordia looked like it would have no problem leading 23-16 but west florida was able to tie the game up at 24. Again the golden bears had multiple chances to win the set but were not able to until winning 28-26 yet again.
set three was a another nail bitter, both teams were dead locked most of the set. Cu got the first crack at breathing room going up 17-14. West florida got within one at 18-17 and 19-18, they then tied the game at 19. Concordia took a three point lead at 24-20 closing in on a sweep. West florida made it tough again closing within two but concordia won the set 25-22.
concordia a will back in action saturday in the gold division bracket at noon, against nsic rival #19 wayne state. Wayne state went 2-0 on the day and beat #6 saint leo. The result of that game will depend on when the golden bears play their second match of the day.
the golden bears volleyball team got off to a great start friday afternoon by beating the adams state grizzlies in straight sets, 25-16, 25-9, 25-23. The golden bears (4-1) used a strong offensive effort from start to finish. As a team they hit .420 and were led by emily palkert who was perfect on the afternoon with seven kills in seven attempts, palkert became just the fourth cu player with 1,500 kills on the night. cassie haag had a team high nine kills and eight blocks.
megan carlson added seven kills on the afternoon as well. Freshman kayla koenecke had six kills and kara pioske had four. Freshman setter amanda konetchy had 28 assists and led the team with 8 digs. The golden bears held the grizzles to a .157 hitting percentage.
concordia and adams state were tied at 12 in the first set before cu went on a run and jumped out to a 21-13 lead. During the run koenecke had two service aces and the defense forced three asc attack errors. The golden bears would only give up three more points and won the set by a score of 25-16.
the golden bears jumped out in the second scoring the first seven points of the match. From then the teams traded a few points and cu had a 16-6 lead mid way through the match. Concordia kept up the hot play and won the set 25-9.
set three was back and fourth much like the first set and the score was tied at twelve just like the first set. Cu broke the tie and took a 19-14 lead late in the set. Adams state got back within the three at 23-20 and tied the match up at 23. Concordia got a kill from kayla konetchy and forced a grizzles attack error to win the set 25-23.
