ST. PAUL, Minn. – The top-ranked Concordia University volleyball team (2-0) picked up their second win of the day with a sweep of #7 Southwest Minnesota State (0-2) on Friday night in the Radisson Hotel Roseville Volleyball Clash.
 
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. She completed the day with a team-best 29 kills with a .351 hitting percentage.


CU Volleyball vs. SMSU 9.5.2014 - Images by Justin Oakman

Riley Hanson added 12 kills while Heather Schiller had nine and Emma Lange had seven. Defensively, Lisa Atkinson had another double-digit dig performance with 11 while Taylor Dordan chipped in 10.
 
Kasey Williams guided the offense with 44 assists along with seven digs in a strong performance. As a team, the Golden Bears hit .358 while holding the Mustangs to just .220. CU also had eight team blocks compared to just two for SMSU.
 
Concordia got off to a strong start in the first set as they jumped out to an early 11-6 lead following a 5-1 run. The lead grew to six at 20-14 but the Mustangs erased that lead quickly and pulled even at 20. The two went back and forth trading points until the 25-24 mark when SMSU took their first lead of the match with a chance to close out the set. CU scored four of the next five points to close out a thrilling set with a 28-26 win on a kill from Riley Hanson.
 
The Golden Bears once again saw an early lead disappear after taking an 11-6 lead in the second set. The Mustangs grabbed a 21-20 lead but couldn't hang on as Concordia stormed back with five straight points to take the set 25-21 and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The third set featured another SMSU comeback that fell short as they cut a 15-9 CU lead to 19-17 before Concordia ran away with the sweep. The Golden Bears scored six of the last seven points to claim a 25-18 to close it out.
 
The Mustangs were led by Kenzie Beekman's 14 kills while Whitney Burmeister added 10 digs.
 
Concordia returns to the court tomorrow at noon with a match against #17 Wheeling Jesuit and again at 7:30 p.m. against Missouri S&T to close out the Radisson Hotel Roseville Volleyball Clash.