Aquinas 3, Concordia 1

(November 4, 2008 - Ann Arbor, Mich.) -- A once-promising season lost traction in early October and unfortunately for the Concordia volleyball has never been able to be stabilized. After a 3-1 loss to Aquinas on Tuesday evening, the Cardinals have lost 20 of the last 23 games they have played. While the 2008 season is down to one game, their still remains a lot of optimism for an exciting 2009 as many young Cards got valuable experience and have shown a lot of promise that they will be a team to watch in the future.

As for now, the Cardinals struggles continued as they couldn't mount any consistent offensive play. All too often, as as been a plague all season, a string of points never materialized as a ball would be served into the net or an errant attack would sail wide or a set would be mishandled. Most of the errors can be attributed to a lack of confidence or youthful inexperience, two things that can be expected at this point and can be rectified next year.

Aquinas came in Tuesday as the #3 team in the WHAC and will look to an opening round playoff matchup against UM-Dearborn next week. But their focus was on the now and they made off with a first-set 25-20 victory. Statistically the teams were nearly dead even in every category, but save for the service aces where the Saints had four and the Cards one. Rosemarie Royce (Fr. - Ann Arbor, Mich.) had a strong first set with four kills while Rachel Heaton (Fr. - Plymouth, Mich.) adjusted well to her new role of libero with five digs.

The second set showed why there is so much promise for next season and beyond when the Cardinals showed tremendous character, and ability, and came back to win the set 27-25. A trio of freshmen stepped up and dominated the net play as Kara Youngs (Fr. - Belding, Mich.) had six kills with Danielle Guss (Fr. - Lambertville, Mich.) and Ashley Hart (Fr. - Birmingham, Mich.) each had five.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals lost their mojo from that match and couldn't sustain the momentum long as the Saints picked up two easy victories over the next two sets winning 25-16 and 25-17 to earn the match victory.

Hart finished with a team-high eight kills for the match while Youngs, Guss and Shawna Dorton (Sr. - Lincoln Park, Mich.) all had seven. Aquinas was lead by Jessica Curtis, who had 15 kills, and Katie Vander Meer, who added 10. Vander Meer, the teams setter, kept the Cards on their toes as she frequently attacked mixed in with sets as well, finishing with 34 assists.

Shilo Stewart (Jr. - Brighton, Mich.) served as Concordia's primary setter finishing with 20 assists, while Ashley Zair (Jr. - West Bloomfield, Mich.) added 14 as the secondary option.

Defensively, Heaton lead the Cards with 12 digs, while Youngs had eight and Guss six. Sara LeClair lead Aquinas with 11 digs.

For Concordia (15-24, 1-12 WHAC) only one game remains and it's one that is poised to send the Cardinals into the 2009 season on a winning note. On Thursday, Concordia hosts Siena Heights University, who like the Cards, have struggled of late. Siena Heights enters with a 7-24 overal record and a 1-12 mark in the WHAC.

Thursday will be senior night for the Cardinals as they honor Shawna Dorton and Erica Manning for their tremendous contributions to the Concordia program.