WINONA, Minn. – The third-ranked Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (6-3, 1-1 NSIC) dropped their first NSIC road match of the year to Winona State (7-2, 1-1 NSIC) on Saturday night.
 
The loss marks the first defeat against the Warriors since October 24^th, 2000, ending a 24-match winning streak in the series. The Golden Bears are now 26-8 in the all-time series with WSU.
 
The Warriors offense was firing on all cylinders as they hit .275 as a team compared to a .215 mark for the Golden Bears in the match. WSU also out-paced CSP 5-0 in service aces, as well.
 
Concordia saw three players finish in double figures in kills as Anna Schlaak led the way with 13 kills while Riley Hanson chipped in 12 and Mariya Sampson chipped in 11. Sampson finished as the most efficient of the three with a .310 hitting percentage while Schlaak added 16 digs to pick up the double-double.
 
Heather Schiller had her streak of eight straight matches with at least four blocks snapped, but she still finished with a pair of blocks while collecting nine kills and an efficient .500 hitting percentage.
 
Kasey Williams picked up a double-double as she had 42 assists and 15 digs while Taylor Dordan contributed 11 digs.
 
Taylor Goar and Maria Fruechte were dominant for the Warriors as Goar finished with a match-high 19 kills to go along with 15 digs while Fruechte had 17 kills and 12 digs, hitting .452 for the match.
 
McKenna Larson orchestrated the WSU attack as she picked up a double-double with 42 assists and 10 digs as well as seven kills.
 
The Golden Bears fell behind 4-0 quickly in the first set and they were unable to erase the deficit the rest of the way. CSP pulled back within two on several occasions, including at 10-8, but a 15-4 run down the stretch for the Warriors gave them a 25-13 set win in the first as they ran away with it.
 
The tables were turned in the second set as Concordia claimed six of the first seven points to jump out to an early lead of their own. The lead continued to grow for most of the set as the Warriors couldn't pull closer than four points as CSP controlled play. The Golden Bears pushed the lead out to nine at 16-7 and eventually to 10 at 22-12 before WSU went on a small run to pull the differential a bit closer. Winona State cut it to six at 23-17 but CSP took the final two points to stop the run and even the match at one heading to the break.
 
It was the Warriors who gained the first advantage in the third set as they ran out to an 11-6 lead following three straight points in their favor. The Golden Bears spent much of the rest of the set as they pulled even at 17-17 and took the lead at 20-19. CSP appeared to have all the momentum as they pushed their lead to three at 23-20 but Winona State responded with five straight points to win the set 25-23 in dramatic fashion and pull one set win away from winning the match.
 
Concordia got off to a strong start in the fourth by grabbing six of the first nine points as they looked to extend the match to a decisive fifth set. The lead wouldn't last, though, as Winona State jumped ahead 10-8 with a 7-2 run of their own. The two teams jockeyed for position as the set featured six ties down the stretch. CSP finally regained the lead at 24-23 as they pulled within a point of pushing the match to a fifth set, but Winona State answered with three points in a row to claim the victory with a 26-24 set win.
 
Concordia will look to get back on track on Tuesday night as they host Minnesota State in NSIC action. The first serve is set for 7 p.m.