Box Score
Eleven times (prior to yesterday's match) the Eagles of Concordia-Irvine walked into an opponent's gym and found a way to win. And yet, no two of those matches were the same (except in the outcome). Concordia's 12th road match of the season was equally different, and equally successful, as the visiting Eagles endured one of it's toughest tests and walked off the Dixie campus with it's 20th win of the season and 12th consecutive win on the road, 25-23, 27-25, 25-19.
The first set featured a steady dose of
Rachel Flynn and
Cindy Tran on offense, as the duo collected ten of the team's 15 kills in the set. The Eagles gradually moved out to a four-point lead at 12-8 before a mini-burst opened it up to 18-11. The Trailblazers answered with an 8-3 run of their own to close the gap to 19-21 but Concordiadid not wither under the pressure, finishing the set on kills by Flynn and
Hannah Andrews.
Set two saw the home team respond and take an early lead on their way to a 13-9 advantage. Concordia had other plans though, going on a 5-0 run fueled by kills from Flynn, Tran and
Ellie Ladensack to take the lead at 14-13. Then the battle ensued. The teams traded points with neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage the rest of the way.Ten times the score would return to deuce until the score sat tied at 25.   Every match has several pivotal moments, Tran and
Amber Rose owned the first one in this match, clamping down on a Taylor Duryea attack for a key block and point 26. Duryea got another chance in the next rally to tie it up but ended up swinging wide and sending CUI to the 27-25 win.
The visitors had to withstand one more push from Dixie State as the two teams went toe-to-toe early in the third set. When the dust settled the score was tied at 15 and it was the Eagles' time to fly. Ladensack and Andrews were the wings as Concordia ripped off a 10-4 run to close out the game with the final point ending on another definitive block by Tran and Rose.
"I am just really proud of their fight and determination", a smiling Head Coach,
Paula Weishoff reflected.  "We had some very specific things we were wanting to do within our game plan and they trusted the process and the plan even when Dixie was coming at us hard. We really wanted our offense to be more diverse today and to get a lot out of our rightside attack and Ellie (Ladensack) and Cindy (Tran) definitely came through."
Andrews, Flynn, Ladensack and Tran combined for 39 of the team's 47 kills and Rose, Tran, and
Kyra Auten came up big on the block yet again with 4 blocks a piece. Defensively, the Eagles got double digit digs from
Logan Grove (10), Maddy Deters (12) and
Taylor Dennison (21).
"The team knows that I don't say this often, but I was really pleased with our defensive effort today", Weishoff continued.  "Taylor had another exceptional match and she and Maddy absolutely set the tone for this team defensively. We started making some things happen in Hawaii and they really seem to be clicking now. We know we have a lot of work to do still and the rest of the schedule is tough but it's exciting to see them bring such a consistent level of play regardless of what gym we are in."
Concordia (20-2,11-2 PacWest) begins the stretch run of PacWest play with a home match next Saturday against Azusa Pacific. The match is designated as Alumni Night and first serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the CUI Arena.
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