Box Score Irvine, CA - Concordia dialed things up after a close first set and made quick work of the visiting Sea Lions, 25-21, 25-15, 25-15 at the CUI Arena last night.
The Eagles (22-2 overall, 13-2 PacWest) jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead, but Point Loma would kept the score close despite a 17-kill offensive barrage by the home team. Concordia gradually extended the lead back to six behind kills from
Hannah Andrews,
Amber Rose and
Cindy Tran. Point Loma did not get any closer than the final 4-point spread. Andrews (4 kills), Tran (4 kills) and Flynn (5 kills) led the Eagles attack to a strong .333 hitting percentage with the help of setter
Morgan Nunley's ten assists in the set.
Point Loma came out of the gates with two quick kills to take a 2-0 lead in the second. With the Sea Lions holding a 7-6 edge, Andrews and
Ellie Ladensack were the catalyst for a 5-1 run that pushed Concordia ahead, taking a lead it did not relinquish the rest of the night. Ladensack (5 kills) and Flynn (4 kills) took control of the offense while an assortment of Eagles, led by Nunley's 6 digs, dialed up the defense to the tune of 23 digs in the set. The Eagle defense held Point Loma to 10 kills and a .146 hitting percentage on its way to the final 10-point margin.
Concordia kept the pressure square on the shoulders of the visitors forcing a number of errors on the way to an early 8-1 Eagle lead in set three. Rose and
Taylor Dennison went into denial mode the rest of the way, almost single-handedly holding the Point Loma offense to a -.046 hitting percentage for the set. Dennison walked away from the set with a bawdy 10 digs while Rose imposed her will at the net with three of her match high seven blocks on the night.
Concordia, the PacWest leader in opponent hitting percentage (holding opponents to .135%), improved on that average, holding PLNU to .103% for the match. Flynn finished with 14 kills and 11 digs for her eighth double-double of the season while Andrews (8 kills, 1 error) and Ladensack (9 kills, 1 error) led the way with .368% and .444% respectively. Dennison was one dig shy of continuing her streak of 20+ dig matches, finishing with a match-high 19 while Nunley finished with a double-double of her own, tallying 18 assists to go along with 12 digs.
The Eagles head back on the road Saturday as they visit Riverside and the campus of Cal Baptist. The rematch between the two conference leaders is slated for a 2:00 p.m. start.
