Panthers fall in sub-state semifinals

PHILLIPSBURG — Two points away from advancing to the championship match of the Class 3A sub-state volleyball tournament, the Concordia Panthers were unable to close out host Phillipsburg.
Concordia and Phillipsburg split the first two sets in the match.
The Panthers had a 23-22 lead in the third and deciding set.
Phillipsburg scored the final three points of the set to earn a 25-23 win, and advanced to the title match.
Concordia, which beat Minneapolis in straight sets in the opening round of the tournament, dropped the opening set to Phillipsburg, 25-20.
The Panthers rolled to a 25-15 win the second set to pull even at 1-1.
Phillipsburg then pulled out the victory in the third set.
“We had the lead first set, but couldn't close it out. Serving was our strength, but we also missed some crucial serves,” Concordia coach Rio Brown said, “We played a great second set. The third set came down to errors made. We had three key service errors and some hitting errors in the end. We let them go on two runs early and used our timeouts. The girls fought from behind, regained the lead, but just couldn't finish. We are proud of the girls for competing hard and never giving up.”
Taegen Larsen led the Concordia attack with 21 kills and 14 digs.
Chloe Conway and Terryl Loeffler had six kills each.
Shaina Wright finished with four kills, 11 digs and 10 service points.
Zoe Bechard had 19 digs.
Kendall Reynolds had 97 good sets in 97 attempts with 27 assists, seven digs and 13 service points with three aces.
Phillipsburg lost to top-seeded Beloit in three sets in the title match.
Beloit advances to the 3A state tournament in Hutchinson.
Concordia finished the season 22-16.
“I am very proud of the girls and their efforts at the sub-state tournament as well as all year,” Brown said, “They have come a long way. They are a great group of talented girls who get along, work hard and are very coachable. The girls love the game, and their passion shows when they are playing. They fought through some adversity and worked hard to have a good season. Even though we didn't make it to state, the girls competed hard the entire time and left it all out on the court.”
Concordia knocked off Minneapolis 25-12, 25-13 in the first round of the tournament.
Larsen had 12 kills, three blocks and eight digs.
Conway also had 12 kills as well as five digs and 11 service points.
Bechard had 10 digs and seven service points with two aces.
Reynolds finished with 54 good sets in 54 attempts with 27 assists and four digs.
Loeffler had three kills and six blocks.
“The girls came out with a lot of energy in the first set. We did a great job of serving seams, and in turn generating free balls and getting them out of system,” Brown said, “The girls capitalized on the opportunities and finished at the net with hard swings and smart choices. Our serve receive and hitting efficiency were keys for us. We got down 17-10 in the second set with no timeouts left, and fought hard to finish in two. It was great to see them rally together and continue to battle.”