Falcons drop pair of matches at NACC-IIAC Challenge Series

MEQUON, Wis. – Concordia University Wisconsin had a difficult on Saturday during the final day of the NACC-IIAC Challenge falling to Wartburg 1-3 and Coe 1-3.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Concordia Wisconsin 1, Wartburg 3; Concordia Wisconsin 1, Coe 3
Location: R. John Buuck Fieldhouse (Mequon, Wis.)
Records: Concordia Wisconsin (9-6), Wartburg (13-2), Coe (13-5)

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Falcons started the day off winning the first set of the match against Wartburg. However, the Knights, who did not lose a match all weekend, kicked it into gear and won the next three games to take the match.
- CUW had a .275 (15K-4E-40A) attack percentage in the first set but in sets two and three, CUW had a negative attack percentage that hurt them in the long run.
- Wartburg only committed 16 attack errors for the match compared to the Falcons who committed 33 attack errors.
- The Falcons were led by sophomore Terese Zymanek (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) who tallied 12 kills while sophomore Megan Jehlicka (Westosha, Wis.) added a career-high 11 kills against Wartburg.
- In the final match of the tournament, CUW faced a tough competitor in Coe College, but fell 1-3.
- The first set against the Kohawks, the Falcons hit the ball extremely well, only committing three attack errors, but a late run by the Kohawks gave Coe the win.
- CUW fell behind two sets to zero before they won a very exciting third set.
- The Falcons were led again by sophomore Zymanek and freshman Makenzie Paszek (Sussex, Wis.) who each had nine kills in the final match

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Freshman Lindsey Casper (Hubertus, Wis.) led the Falcons defense with 23 digs against Wartburg. Casper finished with 41 digs on the day.
- Junior Karina Klotz (Hubertus, Wis.) finished the day with 40 assists while freshman Haley Sedo (Neenah, Wis.) totaled 37 assists on the day.
- In the final match of the day against Coe, no CUW player tallied double-digit kills.

THE OPPOSITION
- Claire Willenbring led Wartburg with 13 kills while Lizzy Blough and Krystal Graves each added 10 kills apiece. Maria Brown led the Knights with 21 assists.
- Coe was led by Olivia Leisinger who had 14 kills and Brianna Smith who added 12 kills to the Kohawks win. Mackenzie Harbaugh led all players with 45 assists for the match.

UP NEXT
- The Falcons return to conference play on Friday, Oct. 2, when they take on Aurora at home at 7 pm.