SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The #1 Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (22-4, 16-2 NSIC) closed out the weekend sweep with a dramatic five-set win at #20 Augustana (17-9, 10-8 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Golden Bears extended their winning streak to eight with the win as they improved to 9-3 against ranked opponents on the season. CSP improved to 21-1 in 22 meetings all-time against Augie as well.
 
One night after becoming the 17^th member of the 1,000 kill club at Concordia, Riley Hanson put up another record-breaking performance as she set a new career high with 24 kills as she hit an even .500 for the match. She committed just two errors in 44 swings as she continued to play extremely efficiently. In addition to her offensive output, Hanson also came within a block of her career high as she finished with match-best eight blocks.
 
As a team, the team efficiency was strongly in favor of the Golden Bears as they hit .344 while the Vikings hit .213. They also held a strong advantage at the net with 15.0 blocks compared to 6.0 for Augie. Augustana made up ground in the serving category as they had seven service aces and two service errors while Concordia had three service aces and eight service errors.
 
Concordia also had three more players finish in double figures in kills as Anna Pioske and Emma Lange had 15 kills apiece while Anna Schlaak had 10. Pioske chipped in 12 digs while Schlaak added 18 as they both collected double-doubles and Lange hit .500 in an efficient performance.
 
Kasey Williams eclipsed the 60 assist mark for the second time this year as she finished with a season-best 64 assists to go along with 12 assists for her fourth double-double in a row and 14^th of the season. Taylor Dordan also matched Anna Schlaak for the team lead with 18 digs.
 
Ashley Wilson, Dani Magdzas, Sydney Hunsley and Brittany Cech all had 11 for the Vikings as they led the way in a balanced attack while Tahlyr Banks had a match-best 22 digs.
 
The Vikings came out swinging as they claimed nine of the first 11 points to jump out to a seven point lead. They continued to add to that advantage as they pushed it to double digits at 14-4 before the Golden Bears came storming back. CSP put up the next six points in a row to bring it back within four and eventually pulled within two on several occasions starting at 19-17. Concordia remained within two at 23-21 before Augie picked up the final two points to close out the opening set 25-21.
 
Concordia responded with an 8-4 run to open the second to set the tone for the set. Augustana wouldn't make it easy, though, as they took a lead at 13-12 and remained out front until 19-18. A 3-0 run in favor of CSP put the Golden Bears back out front as they wouldn't relinquish that lead and evened the match with a 25-21 set win of their own.
 
After Augie ran out to a 7-4 lead in the third set, the Golden Bears took control with an 8-1 run. The lead continued to grow from there as Concordia answered an Augie point with five of their own to make it 17-9. It didn't stop there as CSP pushed their advantage to double digits at 20-10 and grew it as large as 12 at 23-11 and 24-12 before winning it 25-15 to go up 2-1 in the match.
 
The Golden Bears' effort to comfortably end the match in four sets was scuttled as the Vikings got off to a strong start as they built an early 8-4 lead. CSP battled back to take the 12-11 and again at 14-12 but they were unable to hang on as Augustana put up the next six points to push their lead back to four at 18-14. Concordia couldn't shrink that gap back below three the rest of the set as the Vikings rolled to a 25-19 win in the fourth to push the match to a decisive fifth set.
 
The two teams saved the best for last as the 15-point final set featured nine ties and four lead changes as they went back and forth trying to close out the match. It was the Vikings that took the first lead as they went up two at 5-3 and stayed in the lead until 8-6 before the Golden Bears made their move. CSP pulled even with two in a row and took the lead at 10-9 before Augie went back out front at 12-11. Three in a row in for Concordia brought them within one point of closing it out, but two straight for Augustana tied it back up. The Golden Bears bounced back with back-to-back kills to hang on for a 16-14 win in the fifth to win their eighth in a row.
 
The Golden Bears return home next weekend for a crucial final weekend in the regular season as they host Sioux Falls on Friday and #2 Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday with the NSIC regular season title potentially on the line.