DULUTH, Minn. – The #2 Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (15-2, 8-1 NSIC) dropped an NSIC contest for the first time this season in a four-set loss at #6 Minnesota Duluth (15-2, 8-1 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon. CSP bounced back from a 25-22 loss in the first set to win the second 25-21, but UMD responded to win the third set 25-22 and the fourth 25-19.
Concordia saw a conference winning streak that lasted 10 days shy of a full calendar year snapped as the streak came to an end at 18. CSP's last loss in NSIC action came all the way back on Oct. 14, 2016 at home against Southwest Minnesota State. The Golden Bears saw an even longer NSIC road winning streak fall as their streak of 20 in a row away from ended at Romano Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. That streak lasted nearly two full years with the last road loss coming at Northern State back on Oct. 16, 2015.
The Bulldogs offense gave the CSP defense a tough time all afternoon as they amassed 71 kills with 19 errors on 164 attempts. UMD hit .333 or better in each of the first three sets en route to putting up the highest opponent hitting percentage of the season against the Golden Bears at .317. Minnesota Duluth also added an 80-66 edge in digs in the win.
For the Golden Bears' attack, they finished at .244 as a team with 53 kills and 14 errors on their 160 swings. Despite the loss, Concordia did manage a 9.0-7.0 edge in total blocks as well as a 4-3 edge in service aces.
Brooklyn Lewis made it four straight matches with 15 kills as she once again paced the squad with 16 in the match. She also added four digs and two blocks while hitting .273.
Shelby Seurer joined her in double figures as she closed out a strong weekend with 12 kills on an efficient .480 hitting percentage to go along with five blocks.
Sydney Book fell one short of double figures with nine kills.
Tori Hanson led the way in digs for Concordia with a team-high 17 while
Erin Fallert added 14 and
Hope Schiller chipped in 12.
Elizabeth Mohr finished two digs shy of a double-double as she finished with 45 assists and eight digs.
Mackenzie Morgen put together a big night in the win for Minnesota Duluth as she compiled 19 kills and 16 digs while Emily Torve guided the UMD offense with 58 assists. Sara Kelly also put up a double-double with 15 kills and 17 digs for the Bulldogs.
The Golden Bears quickly took six of the first eight points before extending their lead to six at 10-4 in the opening set, but the Bulldogs responded to turn the momentum in their favor. Minnesota Duluth hammered out an 8-0 run to turn that six point deficit into a two point lead as they took the lead for good. CSP kept the score close until the 18-17 mark when another big UMD run, this time a 6-0 burst, pushed their edge to 24-17. Concordia fought off five consecutive set points to make things interesting, but the Bulldogs finally closed it out at 25-22.
The two teams jockeyed for the lead early in the second set before Minnesota Duluth put together a 6-1 run to turn a 5-4 CSP advantage into a 10-6 lead for the Bulldogs. UMD remained out front by four at 13-9 before the Golden Bears chipped away to tie it up at 15-15. After trading the next several points, Concordia rattled off five in a row to build a 23-18 edge before closing out the set 25-21 to even the match at 1-1.
After an early 3-0 run gave Minnesota Duluth a 6-4 lead, the Bulldogs held off the CSP attack en route to taking a 2-1 lead in the match. The lead grew to as many as six at 15-9 and again at 17-11 as UMD looked like they were headed to a comfortable win in the set. With the advantage still at five at 23-18, Concordia managed to pull back within two at 23-21 with three straight, but they would not get any closer as the Bulldogs closed it out 25-22.
CSP led for a good portion of the fourth set but were unable to hold on as another late surge pushed Minnesota Duluth ahead. The Golden Bears took three of the first four points and led by as many as four at 11-7 before UMD took control. A big 9-2 run gave the Bulldogs a 16-13 lead before a late 3-0 run gave Minnesota Duluth a 25-19 win to close out the four-set victory.
Concordia returns home for four straight matches starting next weekend as they play host to Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston.
