DENVER, Colo. – The #1 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (7-0) battled back from a first-set deficit to complete the sweep of #2 Wheeling Jesuit (6-1) on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Colorado Premier Challenge.
The defending national champions gave Concordia everything they could handle in the opening set, but the Golden Bears settled in to come back to win the first before cruising to wins in the second and third. The win marks CSP's fourth win against a top-10 opponent and fifth win over an opponent ranked in the top-25 this season. The win, a rematch of the 2013 NCAA Final Four matchup, also improved Concordia to 3-0 all-time against the Cardinals.
The Golden Bears advance to the Premier Challenge title match for the third year in a row after winning it in 2013 and falling in the championship last season. Overall, Concordia has won the tournament four previous times.
It was another comprehensive victory as CSP more than doubled up their opponent in hitting (.331-.151) while also holding a 70-55 edge in digs and a 7.0-3.0 edge in total blocks.
Anna Schlaak did a little bit of everything for the Golden Bears in the win as she led all players with 13 kills and 19 digs while also chipping in a pair of blocks and an ace in a strong performance.
Schlaak was joined in double figures in kills with
Riley Hanson and
Brooklyn Lewis as Hanson collected 11 and hit .429 while Lewis picked up 10 and hit an even .500. Lewis, making her first career start, was especially impressive as she flew past her career highs in kills and digs as she also added six digs.
Williams was at the center of the offensive performance again as she fell an assist short of her season high on the young season as she picked up 46 to go along with six digs.
In the back row,
Emily McDonough picked up her seventh consecutive double-digit dig performance to begin the season with 13 while
Taylor Soine shattered her career best with 12 digs.
Haley Kindall was the lone Cardinal in double digits in kills with 11 while Kayce Krucki and Sam Obringer added double digit digs with 14 and 10, respectively.
The first set lived up to the billing as the momentum shifted back and forth throughout. After a tight start in which neither team was able to build much of a lead, the Cardinals broke through with a 5-0 run to go up 12-7. They looked to have things under control as they held the Golden Bears at bay for much of the rest of the set, but a late surge for CSP changed that quickly. Concordia strung together an impressive run of seven points out of eight to take their first lead since the early going as they went ahead 23-22 before closing it out 25-23.
CSP wasted little time building a decisive advantage in the second set as they took the lead for good at 3-2 before extending it the rest of the way. The lead reached five at 10-5 and sat at six at 19-13 before six straight points gave the Golden Bears a comfortable 25-13 set win to go up 2-0 in the match.
The Golden Bears controlled play from start to finish in the third and final set as they set the tone by grabbing three out of the first four points. Wheeling Jesuit hung tight for a while as the lead didn't grow to more than four until a 6-2 run made it 17-10 in favor of CSP. The lead reached as large as nine at 22-13 and again at 24-15 before Concordia closed it out 25-18 and finished off the sweep with a 25-18 win in the third.
