Cobbers Fall to the Scots in Five on Senior Night

MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/8/25) – In a packed Memorial Auditorium on Senior Night, the Concordia volleyball team battled through five hard-fought sets but ultimately fell to Macalester, 3–2 (25–23, 23–25, 18–25, 25–19, 8–15).

Set One was a back-and-forth battle early on. A kill from Lauren Bangs tied the score at six before the Scots took a 10–7 lead. Concordia answered with a kill from Mallory Leitner to even things at 11, then pushed ahead 13–11 after back-to-back points. The Cobbers extended their lead to 17–13 behind kills from Lauren Pearson and Annie Horan. Macalester closed the gap to 17–16, but the Cobbers responded with another Leitner kill to make it 20–17. Concordia held on to take the opening set 25–20 following kills from Leitner and Kaili Malvey.

Set Two followed a similar script, with the teams trading points early. Macalester jumped ahead 9–6, then used a 4–0 run to extend the lead to 13–7. A Leitner kill stopped the run, and the Cobbers began to rally. A Malvey kill and back-to-back strikes from Bangs fueled a 3–0 Concordia run to cut the deficit to 17–15. Kills from Bangs, Addy Klemin, Leitner, and Horan brought the Cobbers within one late, but Macalester held on to win the set 25–23.

In Set Three, the Cobbers came out strong with a 5–0 run to take a 7–2 lead. The Scots responded with a surge of their own, capitalizing on Cobber errors to move ahead 12–10. Back-to-back kills from Klemin tied it at 12, but Macalester regained control with multiple scoring stretches to pull ahead 22–16. A block from Bangs and Emma Nagorski cut the deficit, but the Scots finished the set 25–18 to take a 2–1 lead.

Concordia bounced back in Set Four, racing out to a 9–3 advantage behind kills from Horan and Pearson. The Cobbers maintained control throughout, with Leitner extending the lead to 15–10 and Klemin adding a late kill to make it 20–14. A 4–0 closing run capped by a Horan kill sealed the set 25–19 and forced a decisive fifth.

In Set Five, Macalester took an early 4–1 lead. A big kill from Horan brought the Cobbers within two at 5–3, but the Scots responded with a 4–0 run to make it 9–3. Concordia fought back with kills from Horan and a Klemin block to close the gap, but Macalester finished strong to take the set 15–8 and the match.

The Cobbers were led offensively by  Leitner and Horan, who each tallied 14 kills. Pearson (22 assists) and Addy Rust (21 assists) guided the offense, while Horan anchored the defense with 28 digs and five blocks. Bangs also added five blocks at the net.