ST. PAUL, Minn. – The third-ranked Concordia University Golden Bears (23-4) dropped a thrilling four set match to the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (26-1) on Tuesday night at the Gangelhoff Center. The Bulldogs have now handed the Golden Bears two of their four losses and their only loss at home this season.
 
The Buldogs continued their recent strong stretch against the Golden Bears with their fourth win in the last five meetings while they extended their overall winning streak to 20. The Golden Bears came in riding an eight game winning streak as well before seeing it snapped tonight.
 
Minnesota Duluth snuck past in a grind-it-out defensive battle as they slightly edged CU in the hitting percentage category at .190 compared to Concordia's .180. The Golden Bears held statistical advantages in several key categories as they lead 10.0-7.0 in blocks, 4-2 in aces and committed 25 attack errors while the Bulldogs committed 34.
 
Riley Hanson was a major impact player for the Golden Bears yet again as she finished the match with a team-high 16 kills and five blocks while hitting .378. Emma Lange added 11 kills and three blocks while Anna Schlaak picked up another double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs.
 
Kasey Williams was just a dig short of a double-double as she finished with 52 assists and nine digs. Taylor Dordan led the way for CU in digs with 14.
 
Sydnie Mauch was a force in the middle for UMD as she finished with a match-high 19 kills while hitting .469. Monica Turner, Mariah Scharf and Maddy Siroin all finished in double figures as well in what was a balanced effort for the Bulldogs.
 
Ashley Hinsch and Julie Rainey both were dynamic as well as Rainey finished with a massive double-double with 59 assists and 12 digs while Rainey had an impressive 22 digs in the win.
 
It was a battle from the beginning as the two teams traded blows early on as there were six ties and four lead changes. Concordia used a momentum-shifting 3-0 run aided by a pair of kills from Hanson to build a comfortable 17-12 lead. The Bulldogs wouldn't go away though as they shrunk the lead back to two at 21-19 but Concordia's energy was too much to handle as they cruised to take the first set 25-21.
 
The second set was even tighter than the first as neither team led by more than three the entire set. The lead changed hands a total of five times with a staggering 15 ties in the set. The Bulldogs appeared to have built the decisive advantage with a 3-0 run to make it 21-18 in their favor but CU had other plans. UMD maintained a two point lead at 24-22 before the Golden Bears scored three straight to force a match point in their favor. After the teams traded the next two points, Bulldogs buckled down for three in a row to take the set 28-26 to even the match heading into the break in what proved to be a huge shift in the momentum of the match.
 
The dramatics didn't stop there as the third set featured 10 more ties and four more lead changes. Concordia scored four straight to take a 13-10 lead. The lead eventually grew to five at 17-12 but a 7-1 run in favor of Minnesota Duluth quickly erased that advantage. The Golden Bears tried to claw their way back from a three point deficit at set point but were only able to grab two points as the Bulldogs closed it out 25-23.
 
The Bulldogs looked poised to close out the set handily as they quickly built an 8-3 lead. CU slowly chipped away at the lead until they took their first lead of the set at 14-13. Minnesota Duluth fired back with a 4-1 run to take an 18-5 lead but Concordia wouldn't go away. They tied it back up at 18 and the teams proceeded to alternate taking the next 15 points as UMD forced match points at 24-23 and 25-24. The Golden Bears were unable to keep that pattern going as an attack error ended the set in favor of Minnesota Duluth at 26-24 to close out the match 3-1.
 
The Golden Bears will return to NSIC play this weekend as they travel to MSU Moorhead and Northern State to close out the regular season.