Madonna 3, CUAA 0
After going five sets with UM Dearborn the night before, the Cardinals looked to regroup quickly and play spoiler to the Crusaders senior day. The Cardinals traveled to Livonia, Mich. with an afternoon matinee with Madonna. The Cardinals came out competitively in the first set forcing Madonna to extra points, 26-24. The Crusaders eventually wore out the Cardinals winning in straight sets.
Lena Thompson (SR/Howard City, MI) led the Cardinals with 8 kills while Gabrielle den Boer (JR/Canton, MI) came in second with 7 kills. Hailey McCourt (JR/Toledo, OH) had a team-high 11 assists and Kaitlin Veihl (JR/Muskegon, MI) finished second with 10 assists. Delaney Bennett (SR/Fruitport, MI) and Tara Schatzle (JR/Brooklyn, MI) finished in the top two with 15 and 14 digs respectively.
Set 1 – Madonna 26, CUAA 24
After falling behind 3-0, the Cardinals made an 8-0 run behind the serves of Delaney Bennett. Gabrielle den Boer made 3 services aces midway through the set, giving Concordia a 15-6 lead. After CUAA held a 21-11 advantage, Madonna fought back with an 8-1 run to narrow the lead. A kill and a service ace from Delaney Bennett put the Cardinals on the brink of victory with a 24-19 lead, but the Crusaders scored 7 straight points to come back and take set 1.
Set 2 – Madonna 25, CUAA 10
After a 4-0 Madonna run, Gabrielle den Boer scored Concordia's first point of the set. Madonna answered with a 6-0 run and the Crusaders controlled most of the second set. Hailey McCourt notched an ace and Delaney Bennett made a pair of late kills, but Madonna took set 2 by a score of 25-10.
Set 3 – Madonna 25, CUAA 20
Concordia started set 3 on a 3-0 run behind two service aces from Hailey McCourt. The Crusaders took the lead with 4 straight points, but a 5-1 run reclaimed the lead for the Cardinals. The set continued to be closely contested with a pair of Lena Thompson kills tying the score 19-19 and 20-20. However, Madonna used a 5-0 run to finish off the game.
Concordia will play their next match on Wednesday, November 6 when the team travels to Indiana Tech. The game is set to begin at 7pm. The season finalie and senior night for Concordia will be on Friday, November 8th as recognition will take place prior to the game. Concordia and Cornerstone will start at 7pm.
