DULUTH, Minn. – The #1 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (23-2, 15-2 NSIC) held on for a huge five-set win on the road at #2 Minnesota Duluth (22-3, 14-3 NSIC) on Friday night. The Golden Bears picked up the victory by taking the second and third sets before closing it out in the fifth.
 
After the #2 Bulldogs handed the #1 Golden Bears their first loss of the season in a five-setter back on Sept. 30, Concordia was able to return the favor in Duluth as they evened the season series with a five set win of their own. In the second match of the year between #1 CSP and #2 UMD, Concordia moved to 3-1 in the all-time series when the two schools hold the top two spots in the land. Overall, the Golden Bears pulled a game closer in the series overall as they improved to 23-26 against the Bulldogs and 10-12 in Duluth.
 
The win extended Concordia's winning streak to seven and moved them ahead of Minnesota Duluth in the NSIC standings with three matches left to play as CSP and Southwest Minnesota State remain in a tie for the top spot at 15-2. The Bulldogs remain a game behind at 14-3 as they sit it a three-way tie for third with Winona State and Augustana.
 
While Concordia held a sizable .246 to .152 advantage in hitting percentage, the real story was CSP's massive 18.0 to 9.0 in total blocks. CSP's mark of 18.0 total blocks is sixth-most in program history and ties the highest mark since 2006. Emma Lange led the way with seven blocks while Mariya Sampson added four and Shelby Seurer and Riley Hanson each chipped in three in a dominant performance as the net.
 
Along with her exploits at the net, Emma Lange filled the box score elsewhere as she also picked up 12 kills with a .455 hitting percentage to go along with seven digs on the night.
 
Leading the way on offense was Hanson as she had a team-high 16 kills while Mariya Sampson added 13 kills and Shelby Seurer contributed 10 kills in a balanced attack. Anna Schlaak nearly made it five players in double figures in kills as she finished a kill short of a double-double with nine kills and 13 digs on the night.
 
Guiding the offense was setter Kasey Williams as she finished with a match-high 57 of the team's 59 assists as she was a part of all but three of Concordia's kills.
 
The duo of Anna Pioske and Emily McDonough carried the load in the digs department as the two combined for 38 of the team's 73, with Pioske collecting 20 and McDonough finishing with 18.
 
Four different Bulldogs hit double digits in kills as Taylor Wissbroecker highlighted the effort with 17 kills and 16 digs. Sarah Kelly added 15 kills while Erin Schindler put up 17 digs.
 
After a strong start saw UMD take the first three points in the opening set, they remained out front until CSP rattled off four straight to even it up at 11-11. From there, the two teams traded points before three in a row put the Bulldogs back in front at 18-15. The Golden Bears managed to close the gap one at 20-19 and eventually pulled even at 22-22, but three of the final four points went in favor of Minnesota Duluth as they took the opening set 25-23.
 
The Bulldogs once again went up 3-0 in the second set, but it wouldn't last as Concordia responded with eight of the next 10 points to take the lead for good at 8-5. UMD took the next two points to cut it back to one to make it as close as it would be the rest of the way before the Golden Bears regained control. The lead hit five at 17-12 and sat at six at 22-16 before CSP finished off the set with three straight to win the set 25-16 and tie the match at 1-1.
 
The third set began with another run for Minnesota Duluth as eight of the first 11 points went in their favor as they quickly built a five point lead. It grew to as many as six at 10-4 and again at 11-5 before CSP chipped away. The Golden Bears closed the gap to two at 12-10 and again at 13-11, but the Bulldogs turned it on from there as they pushed it back to five at 17-12. UMD held onto a two point advantage at 20-18 as they looked to take the lead in the match, but Concordia came through with a massive 7-0 run to take the set 25-20 and push the match in their favor.
 
After the two teams traded points to start the fourth set, UMD started to pull away. Their lead grew to four at 10-6 before bouncing between two and three for much of the rest of the set as Concordia was unable to get over the hump and even it up or take the lead. With the Bulldogs still holding a two point advantage at 21-19, they rattled off a 4-0 run to close it out 25-19 and push the match to a decisive fifth set.
 
The Golden Bears took care of business from the start in the fifth set as they built an early lead with a 5-1 run to open things up. The lead hit five at 7-2 and remained at three or above the rest of the set as CSP closed out on a 3-0 run to win the match with a 15-8 set win in the fifth.
 
Concordia will look to keep their winning streak alive tomorrow afternoon as they take on St. Cloud State.