Piper volleyball playoff hopes dashed by Concordia

The Cobbers and the Pipers played even through the beginning of game one until Concordia mounted a six-point lead to 18-12. Hamline fought back, capitalizing on attacking errors and creative offense to even the score at 23-23. Neither team could put a lead larger than one point on the board for the rest of the game until Concordia ultimately won the opener, 31-29, on a Cobber kill.

In game two, it was Hamline who put the 18-12 advantage on the board. Concordia then took their turn to battle back into the game by taking advantage of errors on the other side of the net. By adding kills of their own on key points at the end of the game, the Cobbers took the second set, 30-26.

Hamline took the first point of game three, but it was the only lead the Pipers would hold, as Concordia took the lead at 4-3 and never looked back. Concordia's lead stood at 11 points at 26-15, and the Pipers cut that lead to seven at cut the lead to seven with four straight points, but it wound up being too little, too late. The Cobbers needed just one match point to advance to the second round of the MIAC playoffs as they took the final game, 30-21.

Sophomore Tasha Simmons (Eagan, Minn.) led the Pipers offense with 11 kills, while senior Shelby Hyllengren (Cannon Falls, Minn.) added seven.

Defensively, Simmons had 19 digs and first-year Heidi Larsen (Andover, Minn.) put up 29.

Hamline's regular season record was 17-10 (6-5 MIAC). With tonight's playoff loss, the Pipers finish at 17-11 (6-6 MIAC) overall.