#5 Concordia University (13-4) fell 3-1 (30-20, 34-36, 32-34, 21-30) at #4 Minnesota Duluth (14-2) in a clash of regional rivals, both ranked in the top five in the nation. Junior Jessica Lucia led Concordia with a match-high 24 kills.

The Golden Bears came out strong early, hitting .414 in the first game while holding the Bulldogs to just .088 as CU won the first game 30-20 to take control.

But the Bulldogs won the next two games in dramatic fashion, as both games went long with scores of 36-34 and 34-32 to give UMD a 2-1 advantage.

Minnesota Duluth didn't look back, as they dropped the Bears 30-21 to seal the match.

Lucia also recorded a double-double in the match, as she posted 13 digs and added three blocks. Sophomore Monica McNamara was the only other Bear to reach double-digit kills with 10. McNamara also led the team with a .429 hitting pct., and she also turned in eight digs and a team-high five blocks.

Senior setter Cailin Terhaar also logged a double-double for the Golden Bears with 51 assists and 12 digs. Junior Megan Graham had a team-high 17 digs in the match.

The Bulldogs were led by Kari Wolford, who racked up 21 kills, while Vicky Braegelmann contributed 19. Setter Katie Gangelhoff had a 20-20 performance with 56 assists and 20 digs, while libero Allison Boddy contributed 18 digs for UMD.

The Golden Bears, who committed just three attack errors in game one, had 11, 10 and 10 in the final three games as their team hitting pct. dropped from .414 after the first game to just .152 for the match, including a .077 in the deciding game four. The Bears did, however, outblock and outdig the Bulldogs with a 10.0-7.0 edge in blocks and a 74-72 dig advantage.

CU gets another shot at the Bulldogs in their last regular-season match when they face-off at the Gangelhoff Center on Tues., Nov. 8 at 7 p.m.

Concordia returns to action in conference play this Friday night when they take on their second consecutive ranked opponent when the 25th-ranked Dragons of MSU Moorhead come to town.