CUW Falls in Weekend Doubleheader

The Concordia Wisconsin women's volleyball team saw itself take a pair of close losses to Edgewood and Carroll on Saturday at the Edgewood Triangular, as both four-set matches featured numerous back-and-forth sets that ultimately fell towards the Falcons' opponents.

Concordia's first match of the day was against the then-12-4 Edgewood Eagles, who entered the day on an 8-game winning streak. Edgewood came out of the gate hot, taking a 5-1 lead early on that would propel it to a 25-15 victory in the set. Similarly, the Eagles would jump out to a 7-1 advantage in the second set, and although the Falcons managed to crawl within three points, Edgewood would once again prevail, taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

As the third set played out, the Eagles would continue to lead, however, Concordia was able to keep pace, preventing Edgewood from gaining the margins it had gotten used to over the first two sets. Finally, late in the set, the Eagles began to pull away, pushing the Falcons to a 23-18 deficit. With their backs against the wall, the Falcons rallied to go on a 7-1 run, seizing a 25-24 advantage off of kills from senior Maycee Karpfinger (Wauwatosa, Wis.) and sophomore Stella Zarling (West Bend, Wis.) and a service ace from sophomore Brianna Lundt (Rosendale, Wis.). After trading rallies in search for the necessary two-point margin, Concordia emerged victorious by a 29-27 score.

The fourth set saw neither team stride ahead, as Edgewood sought a victory and Concordia strove to stay alive in the match. The set was tied a total of sixteen times, including at tallies seven through sixteen, and the two squads exchanged the lead eight times. After drawing even once again at 23, it was the Eagles that broke through, downing the Falcons in four sets.

It was a quick turnaround for the Falcons, who were slated to be in the next match of the day less than thirty minutes later. In their second contest they would face the Carroll Pioneers, who had dropped six of their last seven games after a 7-5 start to the season.

Concordia would see a similar style of competition as its previous two sets of play, as both teams managed to stay within close range for the duration of the frame. Neither the Falcons nor Pioneers were able to put the other away, and it was only once Carroll reached 31 points that they would gain a two-point difference.

The second set was played to a similar tune, as both teams continued to keep the other within reach. After trading the lead eight times, it was once again necessary to reach 30 points to take the set. The Falcons would yet again wind up on the wrong side of a close affair and found themselves in a 2-0 hole. 

The third set, while also extremely competitive, did not see the same exchanging of advantages. The Pioneers jumped out to an early lead, but a 6-1 run by the Falcons erased it just as quickly. Two service aces and two kills from sophomore Mickenzi Benter (De Pere, Wis.) spearheaded the effort, and sophomore Jaydin Vosters (Neenah, Wis.) also contributed a kill to push the Falcons back ahead. While Concordia and Carroll tussled over the lead for a brief stretch afterwards, the Falcons would pull ahead at 13-12 and did not look back. Taking the third set 25-23, Concordia headed into the fourth set once again seeking an opportunity to extend the match.

The Falcons led for almost the entire fourth frame, and just as quickly as they would begin to pull away, the Pioneers would refresh on the other side of a timeout and crawl back into contention. After a late series of six consecutive kills from Carroll standouts Katie Jensen and Peyton Frost, the Pioneers took the lead, 21-20. The Falcons would draw even three times, but were unable to pry the lead away from Carroll, which would go on to win 27-25 to take the match 3-1.

Sophomore Abby Proefrock (Grafton, Wis.) registered 32 digs in the match, tied for the second-most in a game in program history.

Stella Zarling led Concordia in kills between the two matches, tallying 28 on the day.

The Falcons will look to get back into the win column on Oct. 12th, taking on the MSOE Raiders at home at 7:00 p.m.