Volleyball finishes 1-2 at Barker Classic

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Concordia University Wisconsin faced stiff competition on Friday and Saturday at the Barker Classic, finishing with a 1-2 record. The Falcons defeated Hiram, but dropped matches against No. 14 Carthage and No. 23 Illinois Wesleyan

THE BASICS
Final Score: No. 14 Carthage 3, Concordia Wisconsin 0 (13-25, 16-25, 11-25); Concordia Wisconsin 3, Hiram 1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 25-18); No. 23 Illinois Wesleyan 3, Concordia Wisconsin 0 (14-25, 13-25, 26-28)
Location: Shirk Center (Bloomington, Ill.)
Records: Concordia Wisconsin (17-11), Hiram (20-10), No. 14 Carthage (25-7), No. 23 Illinois Wesleyan (22-8)

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Falcons stumbled against a pair of ranked teams (Carthage, Illinois Wesleyan), but took care of business against Hiram. They ended the regular season with a 17-11 overall record.
- CUW had a poor offensive performance against Carthage, hitting just .069 (22K-15E-102A). The Lady Reds hit .254 (41K-12E-110A) and served seven aces, compared to the Falcons zero.
- Freshman Amanda Schultz (North Prairie, Wis.) had six kills, while freshman Lindsey Casper (Hubertus, Wis.) dug a team-high 17 attack attempts against No. 14 Carthage.
- CUW began Saturday with a victory over Hiram after hitting .291 (64K-20E-151A) and recording 13.5 total team blocks (10 solo).
- The Falcons had four players record at least 12 digs against Hiram, with freshman Mackenzie Paszek (Sussex, Wis.) leading the way with 14. A trio of players had double-figure digs and Casper led the team again with 22 digs. The front line defense was led by sophomore Kaily Moegenburg (Plymouth, Wis.) who had four solo blocks), while Schultz added three solo blocks.
- CUW struggled offensively, hitting .112 (29K-14E-134A), while No. 23 Illinois Wesleyan recorded a .220 attack percentage (40K-12E-127A). The Titans served seven aces and had 6.0 total team blocks.
- Just three Falcons had six or more kills against Illinois Wesleyan, with sophomore Lauren Nevinski (New Berlin, Wis.) smashing seven kills. Casper had a match-high 24 digs.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Casper earned all-tournament honors for her efforts. 
- CUW's 17th victory marked the ninth time they reached that many wins during a season.
- CUW is now 1-2 this season against ranked teams. The Falcons defeated UW-Oshkosh on September 11 who was ranked 21st at the time.- Jehlicka's 12 kills versus Hiram were a career high.
- Lehnerz's block solo against Illinois Wesleyan was the first of her career.
- Moegenburg was on her game during Saturday's match against Hiram, blocking a career-best four attack attempts by herself.
- Nevinski's .650 attack percentage (13K-0E-20A) was the highest attack percentage of her career.
- Schultz has been consistently returning to form over the past two weeks and recorded a career-high-tying three solo blocks against Hiram.
- Zymanek was connecting with the setters and smashed a career-best 13 kills, to go along with a .360 attack percentage (13K-4E-25A) versus Hiram.
- Capser now has six 20-plus dig matches this season and this weekend was the first time she had 20-plus in back-to-back matches.

THE OPPOSITION
- Emily Heuermann led Carthage with 13 kills and Karen Chin assisted on 35 kills. Luci Krenzke had a match-best 18 digs, while Rachel Mickey block a pair of attacks by herself.
- Hiram was paced by Katie Barton's 16 kills and Claire Maier's 35 assists. Defensively, Laura Kelly was one of three players who had double-digit digs after recording 15 to lead the team. Marissa Jay had three solo blocks.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE
- The Falcons prepare for the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament with a quarterfinal match against sixth-seeded Benedictine. CUW enters the contest as the third seed.