ST. PAUL, Minn. – The third-ranked Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (19-4, 13-2 NSIC) picked up their fifth consecutive sweep as they defeated Bemidji State (5-19, 3-12 NSIC) on Friday night.
 
The Golden Bears extended their streak of dominance over the Beavers as they won their 27^th in a row in the series dating back to 2001. CSP is 29-8-1 overall against BSU.
 
While it was an impressive night for the entire team, it was a historic night for Riley Hanson. The junior was unstoppable all evening as she took 12 swings and delivered 12 kills in a perfect night. While her 12 attempts meant her 1.000 hitting percentage fell just short of qualifying for the school record, it marked the first time in her career she had a perfect night with double-digit kills and one of only a handful of times it has happened in Concordia history. In addition to being perfect on the night, Hanson pulled 12 kills closer to 1,000 in her career as she enters tomorrow's match at 968 kills, just 32 away from the mark.
 
The team as a whole managed to hit an amazing .514, seventh-best in CSP history, as the Golden Bears eclipsed the .500 mark for the second time on the year. CSP hit .532 against Minot State back on October 10^th. CSP committed just four attack errors while collecting 41 kills.
 
The defense was also dominant as they held the Beavers to just -.046 hitting with only 15 kills on 87 attempts as they forced 19 errors. The Golden Bears also added 11.0 blocks compared to none for BSU.
 
Hanson wasn't the only Golden Bear to have an efficient night as Emma Lange had nine kills and a .467 hitting percentage while Heather Schiller, Emily McDonough, Shelby Seurer and Anna Pioske each hit .444 or above with at least three kills. Lange and Schiller joined Hanson with three blocks apiece as well.
 
Kasey Williams quietly collected another double-double as she finished with 23 assists and 10 digs while Taylor Dordan led all players with 14 digs.
 
Jessica Yost led the Beavers with six kills while Ashley Kiecker chipped in 14 assists.
 
Concordia got off to a fast start to begin the match as they claimed nine of the first 11 points to take a seven point lead. The Golden Bears continued to extend the lead from there as it reached double figures at 14-4 as CSP quickly put it away. With the lead still at 10 at 16-6, the Golden Bears ended the set on an impressive run as they picked up the final nine points to take a 1-0 lead with a 25-6 set win.
 
That streak continued into the second set as CSP scored the first four points and 11 of the first 12 to quickly gain a double digit advantage. As was the case in the first set, the two teams traded a few points before a late run in favor of the Golden Bears ended it. BSU remained within nine at 15-6, but Concordia strung together the next five points before the Beavers took their next point. CSP then closed it out with a 5-1 run to take the second set 25-8.
 
The trend continued in the third set as the Golden Bears ran out to an 8-1 lead through the first nine points. They once again pushed it to double figures before long as they went up 10 at 15-5. The lead grew the rest of the way as Concordia comfortable completed the sweep with a 25-10 set win in the third set.
 
Concordia will look to continue their winning ways tomorrow night as they travel to Minnesota Crookston for a 4 p.m. match.