ST. PAUL, Minn. – The top-ranked Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (4-0) hits the road for another busy weekend as they travel west for the Colorado Premier Challenge. CSP will take on Saint Leo (Fla.) (4-0) and #8 Lewis (Ill.) (4-0) on Friday before playing two more matches on Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT... Concordia will look to build off of a strong start to the season in Denver after not dropping a set in the opening weekend. The Golden Bears got better as the weekend went on, improving their hitting percentage while also lowering their opponents' percentage in each of the four matches. In total, CSP hit .353 as a team while holding their opponents to a mark of .160. The Golden Bears took advantage in several other key categories as they held advantages in service aces (27-14), digs (193-158) and total blocks (18.0-9.0) while their opponents had more attacking errors (55-49) and blocking errors (9-0).
SETTER OF THE WEEK... A big part of the potent CSP attack was senior setter
Kasey Williams. The Cross Plains, Wis. native earn NSIC Setter of the Week honors as she led all setters in the NSIC with 13.75 assists per set over the opening weekend while guiding the team to the league's best hitting percentage. Williams also helped out on the defensive end as she chipped in 2.50 digs per set, including picking up a double-double in the opener, as well as four total blocks.
THE MATCHUPS... The competition will remain tough this weekend as CSP faces off against a pair of undefeated teams on Friday.
Friday's meeting with Saint Leo marks the first ever meeting between the two schools. The Lions got off to a fast start themselves this season as three of their four wins at the Shark Invitational were sweeps while their other with was a five-set victory over then-#11 Rockhurst. Saint Leo is led by senior Hope Lemon's 5.43 kills per set while senior Jamee Townsend has put up a team-best 5.57 digs per set and freshman Anna Garrett has added 13.36 assists per set.
The Golden Bears have only slightly more history with their second opponent on Friday as they have won both meetings in the all-time series against Lewis. CSP won the first meeting in straight sets back in 2008 before winning in four in 2012. Both meetings came in early season tournaments. The Flyers held their own season-opening tournament this past weekend as they won 12 of 13 sets, dropping the only one in a four-set victory over #5 Southwest Minnesota State. Lewis heads into this weekend with a balanced offensive lineup as Aly Schneider, Maddie Seliga, Elizabeth Hyland and Bailey Sparkman all average at least 2.92 kills per set.
LAST YEAR AT THE COLORADO PREMIER CHALLENGE... The Golden Bears took care of business in each of their first three matches of the tournament as they cruised to three straight sweeps, including one against then-#1 Tampa, before falling to then-#13 Ferris State in the title match. CSP was looking for their fifth title in the tournament after previously winning in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013, but they were stopped in a dramatic five-setter. Concordia's
Anna Schlaak,
Kasey Williams and
Heather Schiller were all named to the All-Tournament Team.
Live stats and live video (if available) will be listed on the tournament website.
