Concordia Falls in Season Finale
Eagles finish historic season with 26 wins but can't overcome a game Dominican squad
Christopher Duenow, Assistant Volleyball Coach
Box Score IRVINE, Calif. - For more than a month the Eagles have had a target fixed squarely on their back. For the last ten matches, whether on the road or in the friendly confines of CU Arena, though they have taken some punches, Concordia has always been the one to deliver the knockout blow. Saturday afternoon a motivated Dominican squad bobbed and weaved, counter-punching and frustrating the Eagles through five sets. Just three days earlier Concordia had found that knockout blow in a 4-set win over Point Loma to clinch their first-ever PacWest Championship. But on this day, when all they wanted was to bring the championship back to their home court, Concordia couldn't land the knockout punch they so desperately wanted, dropping the 21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 12-15 decision.
Concordia had one of its most well-rounded performances of the season with four players in double-digit kills and four with double-digit digs but, as close matches are so often defined by, errors played a key role.
"You could see on their faces how much they wanted this", reflected Coach
Paula Weishoff in reference to her team's effort.
"We kept trying to get the big swing and a lot of times, when a team tries so hard to make big plays, it can end up in mistakes. Dominican did an amazing job of extending rallies, frustrating us, and then taking advantage of our errors."
Rachel Flynn (19 kills, 8 digs),
Ellie Ladensack (18 kills),
Hannah Andrews (15 kills) and
Cindy Tran (12 kills) filled up the offensive stat line with the help of setters
Morgan Nunley (43 assists, 12 digs) and
Logan Grove (15 Assists, 19 digs). Defensively,
Taylor Dennison (match high 31 digs) and Maddy Deters (14 digs) joined Nunley and Grove with strong performances.
"I couldn't be prouder of how this team came together, improved, and played for each other this season", noted Weishoff.
"To go undefeated on the road, in and of itself, is such an amazing accomplishment and really shows the maturity of this team. It was a grind of a season and to see them handle the pressure of so many must-win matches over the last month has been really special. I'm so happy that this group of seniors were able to re-establish the championship legacy here at Concordia and I am so grateful for how they have embraced me and the rest of the coaching staff in these first two years back at CUI. This really is a special place."
The Eagles finish the season with a conference-best 17-3 record and an overall record of 26-3. Only five other teams in NCAA Division II had three or fewer losses this season. With her 31 digs against Dominican, Senior Libero
Taylor Dennison finishes her career with 1,625 digs, moving up to 2nd All-Time on the Career Digs list in the Concordia Record books.
