saint paul, minn. - for the first time in well over three years the golden bears (22-1, 13-1 nsic) fell at home to #4 minnesota duluth (23-0, 14-0 nsic) in a five set thriller (25-20, 28-30, 25-15, 20-25, 15-17). It marked cu's first loss after coming into the match on a 44 match winning streak, 61 straight home wins and 85 straight regular season nsic matches. It was the first loss to a ranked team this season as well after taking the first nine. box score

the golden bears and bulldogs went back and forth in the first set as cu held an 11-8 lead midway though the set, thanks to back to back service aces from erienne lauersdorf (watertown, wis.). Umd tied the set up at 12 before taking the lead at 15-14. It remained close in the first set until cu took control scoring five straight points to take a 24-19 lead, before taking the set 25-20.

the second set was also a back and forth battle, with umd taking the first substantial lead at 15-11. Concordia fired right back to score four straight and tie the match at 15 all. The bulldogs held a 20-18 lead forcing cu to call a timeout to try and rebound. The timeout worked as cu stormed back to tie the set at 23 a piece. Both teams had set points, firing away at each other, but no one was ready to back down. Cu had the first two set points followed by a set point two set points by umd before they capitalized on their third of the set taking it 30-28. Concordia had 9.5 blocks in the first two set alone.

concordia jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in set three before umd stormed back to take a 7-6 lead. The golden bears put their foot down and stormed back to take a 17-10 lead late in the set. Cu kept up the pressure and took the set 25-15, the only set that was controlled by either side on the night. At the end of three sets cu had 12.5 blocks, most by the team on the year. Cu did finish with 13.5 in the game, the half due to triple block in the second set.

minnesota duluth was poised to force a fifth set as they held a slim lead through a majority of the fourth set. It was not until late in the set with the bulldogs up 19-16 that they had control. Concordia trailed by as much as five at 23-18 before falling 25-20.

for just the second time all season concordia went into a fifth and deciding set. Concordia jumped out quick at 6-3 before umd scored six of the next seven to take a 9-7 lead, forcing a cu timeout. The golden bears came out of the timeout in great form scoring three straight points, taking a 10-9 lead. Cu held a 12-10 lead late and looked ready to take the match. It would not be their day as umd tied the set at 13 moments later. Concordia had match point at 14-13 but couldn't take advantage. The golden bears then fought off match point at 15-14 before eventually losing the match and set 17-15.

megan carlson (andover, minn.) had 20 kills and 18 digs on the afternoon, one of three players with a double-double. kayla koenecke (delano, minn.) had 19 kills and 13 digs and amanda konetchy (victoria, minn.) had 55 assists and 11 digs. taylor fieldsted (lakeville, minn.) had 12 digs and ellie duffy (fridley, minn.) finished the day with 11 kills.

concordia will be back in action tuesday, traveling to augustana for a 7:00 p.m. Match. They are back home next weekend for the final time of the season taking on #10 wayne state and augustana.

photos by colby reinking