ST. PAUL, Minn. - The #3 Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (14-2, 7-1 NSIC) hitS the road for a huge NSIC conference weekend as they take on St. Cloud State (7-9, 1-7 NSIC) on Friday and #2 Minnesota Duluth (15-1, 8-0 NSIC) on Saturday.

Concordia has fared well against St. Cloud State, holding a 20-1 advantage in their 21 meetings.  St, Cloud State's only win against the Golden Bears came back in their first ever meeting in 1975. Last season, the Golden Bears went 2-0 over the Huskies. In the last meeting CU claimed their 11th straight NSIC regular season title outright with a sweep in St. Cloud. Erienne Lauersdorf paced the Golden Bears with 13 kills and an impressive .600 attack percentage.  Emily McDonough picked up her 10th double-double of the season with 11 kills and 12 digs.  Heather Schiller joined them in double digits with 10 kills.

The Golden Bears meet the Bulldogs for the 43rd time in the school's history and trail UMD in the series 23-19.  Recently, Concordia has had control in the series with a 14-4 in the last 18 matches.  The two teams are familiar foes as they met four times last season, splitting the series with two wins apiece. The last meeting came in the NCAA Central Region Championship in Duluth and ended in a four-set win for Concordia. The win gave CU their ninth Central Region crown in 11 years. Kayla Koenecke and Erienne Lauersdorf each had 13 kills, Riley Hanson has had 12 and Heather Schiller had nine.  Koenecke also had 10 digs to pick up her 22nd double-double on the season.  Schiller not only provided offense but she also added seven total blocks as Concordia had 12.0 as a team, giving UMD fits offensively.

LAST TIME OUT... The Golden Bears stayed hot as they picked up two more sweeps over Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston at home. Concordia has now won seven straight, including six straight sweeps.

Junior Anna Schlaak had a solid all-around weekend as she finished with 26 kills (4.33 per set) and 28 digs (4.67 per set) and picked up a pair of double-doubles. She hit an efficient .412 in the wins and also added three aces and three blocks.

Setter Kasey Williams was solid once again as she led the offensive to a .371 hitting percentage with 80 assists (13.33 per set). She also chipped in 15 digs (2.50 per set) and three blocks.

NCAA RANKS... With a bunch of new faces in the Cocordia 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 fifth in the country with 12.11 assists per set. Riley Hanson comes in at 12th in Division II in hitting percentage at .398 as well. The Golden Bears as a team rank second in the country with a .305 hitting percentage.