ST. PAUL, Minn. – The second-ranked Concordia University volleyball team cruised past Winona State in NSIC action Thursday night at the Gangelhoff Center. The Golden Bears won in straight sets by scores of 25-12, 25-17 and 25-16 for their 11th consecutive victory and 13th straight at home – all in straight sets – improving to 21-3 overall and 15-2 in league play.

Ellie Duffy (Fridley, Minn.) led the Bears on the attack, going 15-for-21 with one error for a .667 rate. Ashley Murtha (Apple Valley, Minn.) also recorded double figure kills with 14 and a .467 attack percentage. Amanda Konetchy (Victoria, Minn.) served up 42 assists, which led to a team .443 attack clip. Taylor Dordan (Blaine, Minn.) and Kayla Koenecke (Delano, Minn.) paced the squad defensively with 17 and 12 digs, respectively.

Concordia took the first four points of the opening set and never relinquished the lead. The Golden Bears didn't allow the Warriors to score more than two consecutive points throughout the entire set for a convincing 25-12 win.

Winona State made the second set much more interesting through 26 points resulting in a 13-13 tie. The score was tied seven times and changed sides thrice up until that point, but CU tallied four consecutive points for a 17-13 lead and held on for an eight-point margin of victory.

In the final set, Concordia set the tone early with a 9-1 lead and cruised to a 25-16 decision. The Although, the Warriors cut the deficit to four at 18-14, but in the end it was too much to dig out of.

Concordia is back on the road Saturday for a 5:00 p.m. match at Upper Iowa. The Peacokcs lost to Southwest Minnesota State tonight 3-1 and are now 9-8 in the NSIC and 15-11 overall.