BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS -- Despite a game-high 12 kills from Barbara Simmons (SR, Minneapolis, Minn./South HS), the Augsburg College Auggies fell to Concordia College-Moorhead 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-16) in a first-round Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference volleyball playoff match on Tuesday night at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall.

The Auggies concluded their season with a 17-14 overall record (6-5 MIAC), posting their second-consecutive 17-win season.

With the win, Concordia (14-9 overall, 6-5 MIAC) moves on the to the MIAC semifinals on Thursday, where the Cobbers will travel to St. Joseph, Minn. to take on the No. 1 seeded College of St. Benedict.

The first set of the evening began evenly matched, as the two teams battled to a 10-10 tie. The Cobbers were able to put together a couple of small runs to take a 23-16 advantage but Augsburg rallied with serving runs by Simmons and Denielle Johnson (JR, Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park HS), to bring the score within two at 24-22. The Auggies weren't able to finish their comeback as Concordia held on for the 25-22 first set win.

The Auggies came out strong in the second set, jumping out to an early 4-0 before Concordia battled back to tie things up at 13-13. Two Concordia blocks and and a couple of Auggie hitting miscues gave the Cobbers a 22-17 advantage. The Auggies put together a late rally to bring the score within one at 24-23 but couldn't finish their second attempt at a late set comeback as the Cobbers took the second set 25-23.

In the third set, Augsburg jumped out to a 3-0 lead to begin the match but wasn't able to maintain its offensive rhythm, as Concordia claimed the deciding set 25-16.

For the match, Augsburg was led offensively by Simmons with 12 kills and Amanda Unze (FY, Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska HS) with seven. Defensively, Johnson and Katie Christensen (JR, North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West HS) paced the Auggies with 17 digs apiece, while setter Shanna Reed (SR, Eagan, Minn./Holy Angels HS) posted 30 assists for the Auggies.

Concordia was led by Jenna Green with 10 kills and a game-high 19 digs. Katie Vohnoutka added nine kills, while setter Amy Sykora recorded 32 assists.

With tonight's match, Augsburg concludes one of its most successful seasons in school history. The Auggies finished in a tie for fourth in the MIAC regular-season standings, the team's best finish since 1985 when they tied for third. The Auggies also qualified for the MIAC postseason playoffs for the first time since the conference moved to the current six-team format in 2001.