ST. PAUL, Minn. – The #2 Concordia University volleyball team (8-2, 1-1 NSIC) battled back to win their NSIC home opener against #21 Northern State (8-2, 1-1 NSIC) in a five-set thriller (17-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-15, 15-11) on Friday night.
 
After falling behind 1-0 and 2-1 in the match, Concordia fought back to grab their 12^th consecutive NSIC home opening win under head coach Brady Starkey. Both teams fought hard defensively as each team was forced into 25 attack errors while the Golden Bears collected seven total blocks and the Wolves collected six. CU out-hit NSU by a slight margin at .255 to .233 with Concordia dominating the final two sets.
 
Anna Schlaak was fed the ball consistently throughout the night as she had a team-best 17 kills along with eight digs. Riley Hanson was stellar for CU as she had 15 kills on an efficient .560 hitting along with three blocks.
 
Schlaak and Hanson were joined in double figures with Heather Schiller and Mariya Sampson with 14 and 12 kills, respectively in a balanced attack. Defensively, Kasey Williams led the way with 15 digs to go with her 54 assists for her sixth double-double of the year. Taylor Dordan and Lisa Atkinson also finished in double figures in digs with 11 and 10, respectively.
 
Northern State was led by Preseason NSIC Player of the Year Kelsey Chambers and her match-high 23 kills. Drew Smith and Mandy Kurosky each had double-doubles as Smith had 54 assists and 11 digs while Kurosky had 12 kills and 17 digs.
 
Northern State came out firing in the opening set as they took an early lead and never looked back. A 6-0 run midway through the set gave the Wolves their biggest lead of the set at 19-7. Concordia eventually closed the gap to seven but it was too late as NSU grabbed a 1-0 lead with a 25-17 set win.
 
The Wolves held an early lead in set two before Concordia stormed back with five straight points to take a 13-8 lead. CU extended the lead to six at 21-15 and still held a five point lead at 24-19. Northern State made it interesting with a 4-0 run until Concordia put it away 25-23 to even it up at 1-1 in the match.
 
The third set was the most hotly contested set as the lead switched hands four times along with 12 ties. Concordia's biggest lead came at 10-7 while NSU took a three point lead at 22-19. After CU took a point back, the Wolves grabbed the final three points to go up 2-1.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Golden Bears took control in the fourth set. NSU held it close up until a 4-0 run gave Concordia a nine point lead at 17-8. CU didn't let up as their lead never shrunk below eight the rest of the set as the Golden Bears took the set 25-15 to force a deciding fifth set.
 
Concordia used a momentum-shifting 6-0 run to take a 9-4 lead in the crucial fifth set to gain the upper hand. The Wolves wouldn't go away though as they brought it back to three points several times but were unable to get over the hump as Concordia won the set 15-11.
 
The Golden Bears will look to complete the weekend sweep tomorrow with MSU Moorhead coming to town for a 4 p.m. match while NSU travels to Minnesota State.