ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia University volleyball team (14-2, 7-1 NSIC) extended their streak to 20 consecutive sets won with a sweep of Minnesota Crookston (8-8, 2-6 NSIC) on Saturday evening. The Golden Bears have also won 27 straight matches over UMC overall.
Concordia's attack was efficient all night as they finished off the night with a .406 attack percentage as a team. Their lowest percentage in any set was .333 in the first set. The defense was nearly as strong as they limited UMC to just .095 hitting.
Emma Lange led a balanced attack with 13 kills on just 20 attempts as she finished with an attack percentage of .550.
Anna Schlaak collected her second straight double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs while also hitting a strong .455 for the match.
Riley Hanson finished the evening as the third Golden Bear in double figures with 11 kills while
Heather Schiller added nine.
Defensively,
Taylor Dordan led the Golden Bears with 12 digs while
Kasey Williams fell a dig short of a double-double with nine digs to go along with her 39 assists.
Brittany Looker was a bright spot for the Golden Eagles as she finished the match with 13 kills to break the career record in kills for UMC.
Concordia was ready to play as they led the entire way after dropping the first point. CU scored five of the first six points in the set and didn't allow the lead to shrink below three the rest of the way. The Golden Bears lead grew to double digits at 18-8 before reaching the final score of 25-12.
Minnesota Crookston took a quick 3-1 lead to give them their largest lead of the day. The two teams traded points with UMC holding their last lead at 9-8 before three straight points for CU gave them the decisive advantage. After another UMC point, Concordia extended the lead with a 6-0 run to put it away. CU eventually settled with a 25-16 set win in the second to take a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Concordia didn't allow for any dramatic comebacks as they led wire to wire in the deciding third set. A 5-0 run midway through the set gave the Golden Bears a 16-7 advantage. The Golden Eagles made it tough on CU as they tried to close it out, but CU finished off the set and the match with a 25-21 set win.
The Golden Bears are back on the road next weekend as they travel north to St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth.
