ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Hamline volleyball team (2-1, 1-1 MIAC) picked up their first conference win of the 2021 spring season on Thursday night, taking down Concordia (0-5, 0-3 MIAC) 3-1 at Hutton Arena. This is the second win in a row for the Pipers against Concordia, getting their first win over the Cobbers in 27 years during the 2019 season.
 
The Pipers put together a balanced offensive attack, as seven different players had at least one kill and four players ended with nine kills or more. Sophomore Rachel Rettmann led the way with 15 kills, followed closely by junior Sydney Larson with 14, and first year Julianna Boyum with 12. Junior Brynn Hendrickson (who finished with nine kills) and Rettmann each hit above .300 in the game.
 
Senior Megan Rubbelke directed the offense, with 51 assists on the night. Rubbelke and Larson each tallied double-doubles in the contest, as Rubbelke added 15 digs and Larson added 11. Junior Gabby Robinson totaled the most digs in the match for HU with 16, followed closely by sophomore Maggie Gavic, who matched Rubbelke with 15.
 
The Pipers also served well in the game, recording 10 aces. Boyum was a major part of that, getting six of those 10 aces. She currently leads the MIAC in aces with nine on the year.
 
In the first set, the Pipers built up a sizeable lead, up 20-13 late in the match, but the Cobbers went on a 9-1 run to take over a 25-24 lead before HU battled back to escape with a 27-25 set win.
 
Excluding the Pipers' 4-0 lead at the beginning of set two, neither team lead by more than three points for the duration of the set. A kill from Hendrickson put Hamline ahead 23-22, but Concordia would close out the set with three straight points to tie up the match at one apiece.
 
A 5-1 run of points for the Pipers in the middle of the third set put them ahead by six at 18-12 which would allow them to coast to the 25-17 win, putting them ahead two sets to one.
 
The Cobbers led in the fourth set 12-8, but HU would get the next seven straight points to take over the lead. Concordia would later tie it at 15, but the Pipers did not allow them to take a lead, eventually winning the set 25-20 to take the match.
 
The Pipers are back in action tomorrow night, hosting Macalester for a 7:00 p.m. contest.