ST. PAUL, Minn. - The #3 Concordia University Golden Bears volleyball team (18-3, 11-2 NSIC) is back on the road as they travel to #5 Southwest Minnesota State (16-5, 11-2 NSIC) on Friday night before heading to the University of Sioux Falls (13-10, 7-6 NSIC) on Saturday.

THE MATCHUPS... Friday's match marks the 50th meeting between the Golden Bears and the Mustangs. Concordia holds a 27-21-1 advantage in the series and has dominated the series in recent history.  After SMSU went 18-0-1 in the first 19 meetings, CU has turned it around by winning 27 of the last 30 meetings.  The two teams met back on September 5th in the Radisson Hotel Roseville Volleyball Clash and ended in a Golden Bear sweep. Anna Schlaak surpassed her career-high in kills and digs set earlier in the day with her first career double-double with 16 kills and 13 digs.

The Golden Bears are taking on the the Cougars for the eighth time in the school's history. CU holds a slight advantage in the all-time series by going 4-3. Concordia is 3-0 against USF in NSIC play and swept the only meeting last year. Senior right side Kayla Koenecke and sophomore outside hitter Emily McDonough each tallied 13 kills while hitting at a high rate. Koenecke hit .391 (13-4-23) while McDonough was nearly identical with one less error in the same number of swings for a .435 night.

LAST TIME OUT... Concordia stayed undefeated at home with three home wins last week, including two wins over ranked opponets.

Kasey Williams was named the AVCA National Player of the Week and NSIC Setter of the Week for the Golden Bears. After a four-set victory over Winona State where she tallied 48 assists and seven digs, Concordia-St. Paul then squared off against two teams nationally ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll. Against #20 Augustana, the Wisconsin native registered a weekend-best 51 assists with 12 digs, but more impressively as a team the Bears hit .415. She followed that up with a 45-assist, seven-kill performance against #12 Wayne State (NE). In that match as a team they hit a tremendous .373. For the week, the setter averaged 14.40 assists and 2.60 digs per set while leading her squad to a .349 team hitting percentage.

Anna Schlaak was also named the NSIC Player of the Week as led the NSIC with 4.30 kills per set (43) in three wins, including victories against No. 20 Augustana and No. 12 Wayne State.  Schlaak hit .301 for the week and had at least 12 kills and hit at least .256 in each match.  She recorded two double-doubles with 16 kills and 19 digs versus Winona State as well as 12 kills and 21 digs while hitting .375 against WSC. She also led the Golden Bears with 40 digs (4.00 per set) on the week.  

NCAA RANKS... With a bunch of new faces in the Concordia lineup, several CU players rank near the top in statistical categories in the country. Kasey Williams has picked up where graduate Amanda Konetchy left off as she ranks fourth in the country with 12.31 assists per set. Riley Hanson comes in at 15th in Division II in hitting percentage at .389 as well. The Golden Bears as a team rank second in the country with a .304 hitting percentage.