#7 Concordia University (9-3, 1-0 NSIC) opens the Northern Sun volleyball season with a convincing 3-1 win (30-26, 30-18, 25-30, 30-19) over Southwest Minnesota State (9-3, 0-1 NSIC) friday night at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Junior Jessica Lucia recorded another double-double, as she had a team-high 20 kills along with 16 digs. Lucia hit .317 for the match and also contributed three blocks (two solo).

Junior Kelsey Kyro and sophomore Monica McNamara each put up 14 kills. McNamara's .500 hitting percentage led a Golden Bear squad that hit .305 as a team. Senior Valerie Olson also reached the double-digit kill barrier with 13, while senior setter Cailin Terhaar's 60 assists paved the way for blazing kills all evening.

On the defensive side, junior Megan Graham paced the CU defense with 17 digs, and the Bears outblocked the Mustangs 7-3 on the evening.

SMSU was led by Megan Wendorff, who equaled Lucia's 20 kills, while Erin Contons contributed 17.

The Bears were dominant in game two, outhitting SMSU .371 to .158. They stepped up another notch in game four after dropping the third game. CU hit .391 while holding the Mustangs to just .190 in the final game to seal the victory.

Concordia returns to action tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 p.m. when they play host to Wayne State (11-3, 1-0 NSIC), who defeated Winona State on the road.