Box Score ST. PAUL, Minn. - Top-ranked Concordia-St. Paul (23-1, 15-0 NSIC) came from behind for a four set victory over MSU Moorhead (14-9, 7-8 NSIC) on Friday night at Gangelhoff Center. The Golden Bears extend their 2013 season winning streak to 21 matches and pushed the program's NSIC winning streak to 29.
The Golden Bears have also won eight straight against the Dragons and 23 out of the last 24 in the series between the teams.
Concordia sophomore
Heather Schiller connected on kills on her first 11 swings in the match, finishing with 12 kills at an .800 clip in 15 attempts. She added five total blocks (two solo).
Senior right side
Kayla Koenecke delivered a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs, adding seven assists. The 13 kills push her over 1,500 for her career (1,504) and the 11 digs bring her to 1,264. It was her 13th double-double on the year.
It was a slow start for the six-time defending NCAA Champions, however, as MSU Moorhead came out strong. After Concordia scored the first point, MSUM went on a 5-0 run and never let up, leading the entire first set. Concordia narrowed the margin to two points four times and pulled within a point late, 24-23, before the Dragons took the set.
MSU Moorhead hit .310 in the opening set win, while Concordia hit .314.
MSUM started strong in the second set as well, scoring the first six points to take a commanding lead. They extended the margin to eight, 16-8 before Concordia made a strong run.
The Golden Bears scored 11 of the next 13 points to take their first lead since the first point of the match, 19-18. The Dragons tied the set back up at 19 before Concordia sprinted away down the stretch for a 25-22 win to even things up after two sets.
Concordia out-hit MSUM .444 to .194 in the second set as
Erienne Lauersdorf piled up five kills in eight attempts before finishing the night with a match-high 17 kills while hitting .438.
In the third set, Concordia took control with a resounding 25-8 victory, jumping out to a 9-1 lead after eight straight points on
Taylor Dordan's serve. Koenecke, Lauersdorf and Schiller all produced two kills during the 8-0 run.
Later in the fourth set, Concordia scored 10 straight to turn a 14-7 lead into a 24-7 deficit behind
Emily McDonough's serve. Concordia would hit .483 in the fourth while the defense held the Dragons to .031 hitting.
In the deciding set, Concordia started strong again with a 7-1 lead off seven straight points from McDonough's serve once again. In the match's final set, Dordan delivered 10 of her match-high 20 digs while the defense held the Dragons to .049 hitting.
Dordan and the Golden Bears limited MSUM to .135 hitting on the evening.
On the offensive end, senior setter
Amanda Konetchy paced the attack to a .397 hitting night, delivering 52 assists to five different attackers in double-figures for kills. Konetchy also had a double-double, adding 12 digs for her third double-double of the year.
The Dragons were led by 10 kills from Kaitlin VanWinkle and 10 digs from Amber Krenske.
Concordia returns home tomorrow for senior day against #23 Northern State with a 4 p.m. match start time. The Wolves have won nine straight matches and are 12-3 in the NSIC, just one match out of second place in the standings.
