(Nove,ber 6, 2007 - Ft. Wayne, Ind.) -- After winning only seven games a year ago, head volleyball coach Dan Kirchhoff vowed he would turn things around. Despite a first-round loss to Indiana Tech, the second-year coach has certainly placed the Concordia volleyball program in a much different light after posting 19 wins this year, fourth best in program history and the most in a decade. Despite all that was accomplished, with records smashed and wins piling up, Tuesday's first-round ouster was a bitter pill to swallow as the Cards were man-handled in straight sets 30-20, 30-21, 30-16.

 

Quite often during the season, multiple players would register more than 10 kills in a match, but on Tuesday Erin Walczak (Sr. - DeWitt, Mich.) and Amanda Taylor (Jr. - Loves Park, Ill.) were the team leaders with only five. Erica Manning (Jr. - St. Johns, Mich.) and Samantha Cuppen (Jr. - Port Huron, Mich.) added four apiece with Shawna Dorton (Jr. - Lincoln Park, Mich.) picked up a trio herself.

 

Lindsay Trumitch (Jr. - Riverview, Mich.) orchestrated the offense with 20 assists while Ashley Zair (So. - West Bloomfield, Mich.) was strong defensively with 14 digs.

 

In addition to Walczak, two other seniors played in the final game of their career: Nicole Williams (Sr. - White Lake, Mich.) and Stephanie Weiss (Sr. - Frankenmuth, Mich.). In addition to her five kills, Walczak added an ace and two block assists on the night. Williams finished with one kill, an ace and four digs while Weiss picked up two kills and three digs.

 

Concordia finishes the season with a 19-24 overall record, falling one game shy of tying for third-place all-time in season victories. Indiana Tech improves to 23-17 overall and will move onto the semifinals in the WHAC playoffs and will face the top-ranked Madonna Crusaders.

 

For Concordia, they head into the off-season with the belief that if they can make this much improvement in one season, then Cardinal fans should begin thinking about a home playoff game and an extended stay in the postseason next season.