ST. PAUL, Minn. – The top-ranked Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (10-0, 2-0 NSIC) continued their best start since 2011 as they remained unbeaten with a sweep of #9 Winona State (9-1, 1-1 NSIC) in the NSIC home opener on Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Bears reach 10-0 for the fourth time in program history after winning their first 10 matches previously in 2007, 2009 and 2011. They also made it 26 wins in the last 27 meetings against the Warriors as they improved their all-time mark to 28-8. CSP is now 7-0 against ranked opponents and 6-0 against teams in the top-10.
Concordia's high-powered offense continued to make things difficult on their opponents as they hit an impressive .400 as a team in the win, with three different hitters hitting .450 or better. The Golden Bears also continued their dominance at the net with a strong 11.5-0.0 advantage in the blocks category while also collecting 17 less hitting errors than WSU (23-6).
The senior duo of
Riley Hanson and
Emma Lange each finished with 10 kills as Hanson didn't commit an error while hitting .625 and Lange picked up four blocks.
Anna Schlaak and
Anna Pioske also picked up seven kills as Schlaak had 11 digs and five blocks while Pioske had six digs and three blocks.
Emily McDonough once again led the team with 15 digs, a match-high, while
Kasey Williams chipped in another double-double with 36 assists and 11 digs.
For the Warriors, Lauren Kudronowicz and Taylor Goar each finished with eight kills while McKenna Larsen had 24 assists, nine digs and five kills.
Early in the first set, the two teams remained close until Concordia pulled away a bit midway through the set. The lead sat at just three at 14-11 until CSP doubled that with three in a row to grab some breathing room before maintaining a lead of at least three the rest of the way. The Golden Bears managed to take the final four points of the set to win the first 25-17.
The Golden Bears jumped ahead early again in the second set as they took the lead with three straight points put them up 8-5. The Warriors closed the gap back to one at 8-7, but returned to the offensive as they extended their lead to six at 15-9. That lead would not last, however, as Winona State clawed their way back to tie it up at 19-19 following a 5-0 run and again at 20-20 and 21-21. Concordia once again regained the momentum and took four straight points to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-21 set win.
In the third, CSP dominated from the start as they ran out to an 8-2 lead as they built the decisive advantage. WSU pulled as close as five at 10-5, but a massive 11-0 burst from Concordia put things away as they eventually cruised to a 25-9 set win to complete the sweep.
CSP returns to the court on Tuesday night as they travel south to Minnesota State before hitting the road to Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State on the weekend.
