Concordia’s Small Team Plays Big on Court

The Concordia women’s volleyball team isn’t going to overpower anyone. After all, one of the Eagles’ best outside hitters--Geodi Sunabe--is only 5 feet 3.

But Coach Jody Wise says her players have recently realized that finesse is their best weapon. “The last two matches we’ve played a lot better,” Wise said. “We all kind of learned that we’re not a power team and we’ve been working hard being a little smarter.

“We’re playing far more intelligently, rather than the fun kind of volleyball where you can just hammer people.”

Tuesday, however, the Eagles put the hammer down on Fresno Pacific, the fifth-ranked team in the NAIA. It was an unprecedented victory for the Eagles, who were 0-22 previously against Fresno Pacific.

Wise is especially pleased with how her team fought for the victory, which came in three tough games, 16-14, 16-14, 15-13. “I think mentally,” she said, “it will do a lot for our team to know that we can win a match like that.”

In each game, Concordia jumped ahead early, was caught by Fresno, then put the Sunbirds away.

Fresno Pacific (13-4, 4-2) had a chance to win the second game, leading, 14-13, but the Eagles hung tough through numerous sideouts.

“That was a place that early in the year we would have just died out,” Wise said.

It took a balanced effort to win, Wise said. The Eagles had four players with at least 10 kills: Sunabe (17), Minna Huovila (15), Tera Walker (13) and Joy Brown (10).

Sunabe, a senior who was a defensive specialist before moving to outside hitter this season, also had a team-high 19 digs. “She’s little,” Wise said, “but she’s definitely an impact player in all areas of the game.”

Concordia also had a big victory Saturday at Southern California College. Huovila, a 5-11 senior, had 24 kills, Walker had 19 kills and 33 digs and Sunabe had 18 in the 15-17, 15-12, 15-9, 15-13 victory.

The victory broke a streak of four Golden State Athletic Conference losses for the Eagles (7-10, 2-4). Concordia, which plays at The Master’s College Friday, is ranked sixth in the NAIA Far West Region. The top eight make the playoffs, but Wise isn’t taking anything for granted.

“We want to have a little reserved optimism,” Wise said. “It’s only two matches. I like what I see. I just want us to do it consistently.