ST. PAUL, Minn. – The third-ranked Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (10-3, 5-1 NSIC) picked up a big five-set win over #19 Augustana (11-3, 4-2 NSIC) on Friday night at the Gangelhoff Center.
 
Friday night marked the annual Dig for the Cure night as the team wore pink in honor of breast cancer awareness. The Golden Bears had a large crowd in attendance and they didn't disappoint as they claimed a big NSIC win against the Vikings.
 
The Golden Bears were extremely impressive at they collected 17.0 blocks compared to 6.0 for the Vikings. CSP's 17.0 blocks in the match tied for 10^th most in program history and marked their most since November 2014 against SMSU.


CU Volleyball vs. Augustana 10.2.2015 - Images by Justin Oakman
 
Heather Schiller paced the Golden Bears in the blocks category as she put up a career-high 11 blocks. The senior surpassed double digits for the second time in her career and tied the school record for most blocks in a five set match and tied for third overall in any match. Schiller was once again efficient on the offensive end as well with her fourth match hitting .500 or above in the past five matches to go along with eight kills.
 
Emma Lange and Riley Hanson were also extremely efficient as Lange hit .429 with a match-best 14 kills while Hanson hit .500 with 13 kills. Lange added seven blocks and four digs while Hanson chipped in four blocks. Anna Schlaak was also a big part of the attack with 13 kills to go along with 12 digs as she finished with a double-double.
 
As a team, the Golden Bear offense continued to swing well as they hit .289 for the match and hit .326 or higher in four of the five sets. Concordia did a good job slowing down the Vikings as they limited Augie to a .183 hitting percentage for the match.
 
Kasey Williams was the driving force behind the offense as she put up 57 assists along with 13 digs in a strong performance from the setter position. Taylor Dordan, Emily McDonough and Hope Schiller joined in the act defensively as they added 23, 13 and 10 digs, respectively.
 
Sydney Hunsley paced the Vikings with 14 kills while Brittany Cech finished with a double-double with 11 kills and 16 digs.
 
The match got off to a rousing start as the two teams traded blows in a dramatic first set. The Vikings got off to a quick start by building an 8-4 lead, but Concordia bounced back to even it up with four points in a row in their favor. Augie again pulled ahead to a comfortable lead at 15-10 before extending it to their largest margin at 18-12, but the Golden Bears once again clawed their way back into it. With the lead still at five for Augie at 21-16, CSP responded with a crucial 5-0 run to even the score. The Golden Bears fell behind again and were forced to survive six different set points starting at 24-22. They even took their own lead at 26-25 but were unable to survive a seventh set point as Augie won the set in dramatic fashion 31-29.
 
The Golden Bears bounced back with an impressive showing in the second set as they cruised to a set win to even the match. CSP grabbed eight of the first 11 points and didn't let their lead shrink below three points the rest of the set. The Vikings remained within four at 10-6 but an extended 10-2 run for Concordia put it out of reach at 20-8. The Golden Bears eventually pushed their lead to as large as 14 before settling with a 25-12 final in the set.
 
It was Augustana that took the early lead in the third with five of the first seven points, but the Golden Bears answered with a big run of their own to take control of the crucial third set. CSP took their first lead of the set at 8-7 and they wouldn't let it go as they slowly increased it for much of the rest of the way. Concordia grew the lead to six at 15-9 following a 5-1 run and remained ahead at a comfortable distance until 21-16. Augie made it interesting down the stretch as they pulled within three, but the Golden Bears held off the Vikings to take a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-20 set win.
 
The fourth set began with the two teams trading points with neither team really building much of an advantage until a 4-0 Augustana run put them ahead 13-8. After Concordia took a point back, the Vikings rattled off six of the next seven to take control at 19-10. The Golden Bears wouldn't get closer than seven as Augie forced a decisive fifth set by taking the set 25-14.
 
The Vikings held a 6-5 lead in the fifth but saw it disappear quickly as CSP strung together five straight points to take the lead for good. Augie picked up two points in a row to force a Concordia timeouts, but the Golden Bears recovered to score five of the final six points to close out the match with a 15-9 set win.
 
The Golden Bears will look to extend their winning streak to five tomorrow afternoon as they take on Wayne State at 4 p.m. for Homecoming. Comet's Carnival will be taking place in the south parking lot at Sea Foam Stadium at 2 p.m. as a part of Homecoming. All fans with a Homecoming wristband will receive free admission to the volleyball match.