SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The second-ranked Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (15-1, 7-1 NSIC) claimed the final three sets in a dramatic comeback victory on the road at #6 Augustana (16-2, 7-1 NSIC) on Friday night. After losing the first two sets 25-20 and 25-22, CSP took the final three sets 25-17, 25-23 and 15-9.
 
The Golden Bears made it three straight five-set wins over the Vikings as they won their 23^rd in a row in the all-time series. The comeback win also represented the first time Concordia has erased a 2-0 deficit to win since doing so on the final day of the regular season in 2014 on the road at Northern State. With the win, the Golden Bears improve to 10-1 against ranked opponents and 7-1 against opponents inside the top-10.
 
In what was a fairly even match statistically, the Golden Bears used a 91-65 edge in digs, a 5-1 edge in service aces and a 10.0-7.0 edge in blocks to aid their cause in the win. CSP also finished with a slight .260-.237 advantage in hitting percentage while finishing with a 72-64 margin in kills as well.
 
The duo of Anna Schlaak and Kasey Williams each contributed monster double-doubles to lead the way in the win.

Schlaak's 23 kills and 50 swings were both the highest on the team this season while her 17 digs fell two short of her season high as she collected her fourth double-double on the year. It was a historic night individually for Anna Schlaak as she became the 17th member of the 1,000 kill club in program history as she moved to 1,017 with her 23 kills. Schlaak joins teammate Riley Hanson as the two active Golden Bears to hit that mark.

Williams hit the 60 assist mark for the first time this season, falling six short of her career best, while she also led all players in the match with 22 digs. Her 22 digs tied Emily McDonough for the most by a Golden Bear this season.
 
Emma Lange and Riley Hanson also played major roles offensively as Lange finished with a season-best 19 kills and five digs while Hanson set a season high with 16 kills to go along with six blocks. Both were efficient as Hanson hit .406 and Lange hit .385.
 
Defensively, Emily McDonough fell a dig short of her season high with 21 while Anna Pioske and Hope Schiller joined her in double figures with 12 and 10, respectively.
 
Augie had four players hit double figures in kills, led by Courtney Place's 16, while five of their hitter picked up at least nine kills. Tahlyr Banks was active in the back row for the Vikings with 21 digs while Anna Sykora was just a dig shy of a double-double with 55 assists and nine digs.
 
The Vikings came out firing in the first set as they scored five of the first six points to set the tone. CSP quickly bounced back to tie it up at 7-7, but they failed to capture the lead as Augie took the lead for good from there. The lead grew to as many as seven at 21-14 before Concordia pulled back within four at 24-20, but it was too late as the Vikings closed out the set 25-20.
 
Augustana got off to a strong start again in the second as they ran out to an early 6-3 lead. They maintained a small advantage until a late 3-0 surge gave CSP a 19-17 lead, but it wouldn't last as five of the next six went in favor of the Vikings. Augie held on to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-22 set win in the set.
 
Concordia turned things around in the early going in the third as they built a 4-1 lead before extending it to six at 8-2. CSP's continued to grow as they doubled up the Vikings as the lead hit 18-9. The Golden Bear advantage didn't shrink below six the rest of the set as they kept the match alive with a 25-17 set win.
 
The momentum carried over into the fourth for CSP as they started off with a 4-1 lead. Concordia remained out front until a 6-2 run for Augustana tied it up at 14-14 before the Vikings took their first lead at 17-16. The lead grew to three at 22-19 and still sat at 23-21 before the Golden Bears came through in dramatic fashion with four straight points to win the set 25-23 to force a deciding fifth set.
 
The fifth set couldn't have begun much worse for the Golden Bears as the Vikings claimed the first four points of the set to force an early timeout, but CSP quickly rebounded. Concordia took the lead with six of the next seven points and nine of the next 11 as they completely took over. Augie managed to cut the lead to two at 9-7 and again at 10-8, but the Golden Bears closed out the match in impressive fashion with a 5-1 run to complete the comeback and win the match with a 15-9 set win.
 
Concordia faces another tough opponent tomorrow afternoon as they take on #8 Wayne State at 4 p.m.