MOORHEAD — The Cobber volleyball team clinched their spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 after three contested sets against the Carleton Knights.
The stakes were high coming into the game, a loss would have sent them depending on Bethel to lose their game to secure a playoff spot, but a win against Carleton would guarantee their spot. The night’s theme was senior night, celebrating the seniors who committed their college experience to the game.
“It was a big opportunity for us, we’ve never made it to playoffs in seven years, so we just came out wanting to win and improve tonight,” senior Madison Kisch said.
Kisch contributed to the success tonight leading the Cobbers with 11 kills. Kisch attributed the turn-around season to a change in values for the team.
“We’re focusing a lot on process, so we’re not focusing on winning we’re focusing on the things we can control,” Kisch said.
These values were apparent at the end of the first set when the Cobbers found themselves facing pressure trailing 19-21. But the Cobber’s six-senior team did not back down and came back by serving aces, forcing Carleton errors and going on a 6-0 run. The second set followed the same theme when the Cobbers trailed 16-21 but responded with a 9-1 run coming back and winning the set 25-22.
“There was a little bit of pressure on tonight, but ultimately we knew we had to have fun with it, trust the process, not focus on the outcome, get our job done, make it easy,” senior Chole Markovic said.
Markovic is another one of the team leaders for the year, as she has played in 85 matches for the Cobbers and is eighth in the MIAC for digs (min. 1.00/game) averaging 4.15 digs and fifth in the MIAC for total digs recording 444 on the season.
“I feel like we were able to find the calmness in the storm… and made sure that we were calming each other down,” Markovic said.
The Cobbers found themselves in the same situation in the third set as the first and second sets as they neared the of the game tied 22-22. Concordia buckled in and remained calm while Carleton missed a serve and shanked balls handing Concordia the win 25-22.
The Cobber’s head coach, Faith Radermacher, is a former UND volleyball player and has been coaching the Cobbers since the spring of 2019. This is her first time going to the playoffs as a coach.
“I feel good,” Radermacher said, “I know they’re going to want revenge so that’s super exciting…we haven’t been to the playoffs since 2016, so for our team, that’s super special.”
After the win, Concordia celebrated their seniors who helped build the program over the years to put them in a position as the sixth team in the MIAC. Now the Cobbers look onto their first quarter-final game on Monday, Nov. 6 against St. Olaf.
“I think the pressures off, it’s time to just play and I love our team that way,” Radermacher said.
