MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Carleton volleyball team concluded its season with a 3-0 loss to Concordia at Memorial Auditorium Friday night.  The Knights finish the year 7-15 overall and 4-7 in the MIAC.
 
Friday night's match opened with a 5-2 advantage for the Cobbers.  The Knights clawed back to tie the set 11-11 and later take the lead (14-13) after scoring three straight points.  Another 3-0 run later in the set gave the Knights their largest lead of the frame (19-16) thanks to a kill from senior Annika Tuma and service ace from sophomore Sylvia Dixon.  But the home team had the answer, as Concordia finished the set on an 8-1 run, including the final six points of the set to win 25-21 and grab the early advantage in the match.
 
The second set followed a similar script.  After the Cobbers jumped out to another early lead (6-3), Carleton came storming right back.  Trailing 8-5, the Maize and Blue used an 8-1 to flip the advantage and open up a 13-9 lead. 
 
Later in the set, back-to-back kills from Dixon and senior Catie Marvin gave the Knights a five-point lead (21-16) and it looked like the visitors were going to tie the match up.  But again, the home team was strong down the stretch.  This time, the Cobbers closed the frame on a 9-1 run, capped off by the final six points of the set to win 25-22 and take the 2-0 advantage to the third.
 
With the 2-0 edge in favor of Concordia, the two teams settled into a back-and-forth third set.  The Cobbers again jumped out to an early advantage (7-4), but three straight points for the Knights tied the score right back up.  The Knights led 11-10 before the Cobbers scored back-to-back points to regain the lead. 
 
Concordia stretched the lead to three twice late in the set, the last of which was a 22-19 advantage.  This time, it was the Knights who scored three straight points to tie the set (22-22).  A kill and an ace from junior Kerrigan Candra sparked the run as Carleton tried to reverse the script from the first two sets.  It was not to be, however, as the Cobbers scored the final three points of the set to win 25-22 and seal the 3-0 victory.
 
For the game, Sylvia Dixon led the Carleton attack with nine kills, followed by Catie Marvin and Annika Tuma with six apiece.  Marvin also put up three blocks, while both Megan Smith (15) and Isabel Macia (13) each tallied double-figure assists.  Senior Annelise Sokolow racked up a match-high 21 digs.  She was followed in double-figures by Kerrigan Candra (10), who also notched a pair of aces.
 
In a season that saw much improvement from a year ago, the Knights finish the season 7-15 overall and 4-7 in conference play.  The seven wins are the most for the Knights since the 2018 season, when the Knights went 12-10 overall, while the four conference wins are the most since 2017 when Carleton earned a 5-6 conference record.