ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The #3 Concordia University volleyball team (15-2, 8-1 NSIC) picked up their eighth consecutive win with a four-set victory (25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 25-11) over St. Cloud State (7-10, 1-8 NSIC) on Friday night. The Golden Bears are now 21-1 all-time against the Huskies as they have won the last 21 meetings.
The Golden Bear attack showed flashes of dominance as they hit .421 in the first set and .455 in the fourth set as they finished the match with a .279 hitting percentage. The defense limited the Huskies to a .126 hitting percentage as they won the battle at the net again tonight with 12 total blocks compared to just two for SCSU.
Riley Hanson, who entered the night 12
th in the nation in hitting percentage at .398, improved that number even more as she collected a match-best 19 kills with just two errors and an extremely efficient hitting percentage at .472. She also contributed three blocks as well.
Emma Lange and
Heather Schiller, although quiet on the attack with seven and five kills respectively, made their mark on the match as they each had two solo blocks and four block assists to finish the match with six blocks each. The six blocks marked a career-high for Lange.
Anna Schlaak was a dynamic all-around threat as she collected her third straight double-double with 15 kills and a career-best 22 digs on the night.
Mariya Sampson also contributed a balanced performance as she finished the night with 12 kills, five digs and four blocks.
Kasey Williams put up some huge numbers from the setter position as she added a double-double with 50 assists and 15 digs, her third match this year with 50+ assists and 15+ digs, in the win.
Kaitlin Doughty and Shannon Klink led the way for the Huskies with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, as Klink added 15 assists to pick up the double-double.
SCSU was determined to make it tough on the Golden Bears from the start as they kept it close throughout the first set. The Huskies wouldn't allow CU to extend the lead beyond four points until the 20-15 mark. The lead reached six at 22-16 and 23-17 but Concordia saw the lead shrink to three before closing it out 25-21.
The second set followed the same script with the Huskies even claiming the lead multiple times in the set. They weren't able to build a lead larger than two before Concordia took the lead for good at 20-19. The Golden Bears ended the set on a strong note by taking the last three points in a 25-20 set win to go up 2-0 in the match.
The third set seemed to be headed in the same direction changed hands five times with seven times along the way. Concordia erased a 21-17 deficit and took a 23-22 lead but SCSU stormed back with three in a row to win the set 25-23 and extend the match.
The fourth set was no contest as the Golden Bears scored 10 of the first 12 points as they ran away with it. The lead would reach as large as 14 at 22-8 before settling in at that differential with a 25-11 final in the deciding fourth set.
Concordia travels to Duluth tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. with a showdown with the second-ranked Bulldogs in a battle between the top two teams in the league. The two teams last met in the Central Region Championship last season which resulted in a four-set Golden Bear win.
