Offense Erupts in National Opener

Box Score 

(11/28/07 - Women's Volleyball) COLUMBIA, Mo. - Third-seeded Concordia blasted 53 kills and hit at an impressive .362 clip on the way to a 30-21, 30-17, 30-24 win over Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Wednesday morning at the 49th Annual NAIA Women's Volleyball Championships.

Concordia (27-5) shot out of the gates in blazing fashion, hitting .439 in the opening stanza that included 20 kills against just two errors. Senior Ashley Robbins had 8 of her match-best 12 kills and hit .500 while Lindsey Campbell was nearly perfect at 5-of-6 on offense.

Holding a 11-10 lead early on in game one, the Eagles used a five-point spurt to take control of the frame. Following a Tiger service error, Stephanie Scheele tallied a kill, then Robbins and Campbell combined on a block. A dig-turned-attack by Jenna Friedrich was followed by a kill by Campbell, sending the Eagles on their way.

The second game saw both offenses slow down considerably, but the Eagles still had plenty to go around on the way to doubling their advantage. The Tigers could only break even in the game, hitting .000 (8-8-26) while the Eagles were still steady enough at .286 (14-6-28). Campbell kept up her solid play by converting 4-of-6 attempts while both Scheele and Traci Weamer had three kills apiece.

Head coach Paula Weishoff went to the bench in game three to get freshman Lauren Evans some valuable experience and was rewarded for the move. Evans had kills on 3-of-4 attempts and added a block while fellow freshman Amber Ridens got her offense going with four kills on as many swings. Junior Jamie Friedrich also came off the bench and had a kill along with four digs to finish off the victory.

Weamer had a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs while Chelsea Scott had 10 digs and a service ace. Campbell finished with 9 kills and two blocks while Ridens had 7 kills and Scheele had six. Jenna Friedrich dished out 24 assists and fired a pair of aces, combining with Vanessa Perry who added 20 assists and five digs.

Amber McKean led the way for Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) with 11 kills and three blocks while Stephanie Smith had 9 kills and six digs. Though the Eagles had one more service error (12-11) overall, a 7-2 advantage in aces more than made up for the extra miscue.

The Eagles are back in action later today, taking on Madonna (Mich.) with a scheduled start time of 3:45 p.m. (CST). The Crusaders won a five-game thriller over Mt. Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) following the Concordia win.