BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The top-ranked Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (2-0) cruised to a sweep (25-18, 25-12, 25-12) of Wayne State (Mich.) (1-1) on Friday afternoon in the first match of the day at the Ferris State Volleyball Classic.
The Golden Bears took care of business in their first ever meeting with the Warriors as CSP extended their overall winning streak to eight dating back to last year.
Concordia's defense played a key role in the victory as they held Wayne State to .081 or lower and nine kills or less in each of the three sets for a total of .030 hitting and 21 kills. On the other side, the Golden Bears put up a balanced offensive effort with a .270 hitting percentage or better and 14 kills or more in each set for match totals of .287 and 43. CSP also held a 6-1 lead in aces, a 6.0-2.0 lead in blocks, and a 53-36 lead in digs in the match.
Hope Schiller made it back-to-back double-doubles to start the year as she paced all players with 14 kills to go along with 12 digs. Schiller needed just 28 swings to get to her 14 kills as she put up a .357 hitting percentage in the win.
Brooklyn Lewis gave CSP two players in double figures in kills as she added 10 kills on an efficient .429 hitting percentage while also chipping in three blocks.
Erin Fallert almost made it three as she followed with nine kills and 10 digs as well as three blocks in the match.
It was a slightly quieter night for
Elizabeth Mohr as she tallied 38 assists and seven digs on the afternoon. She also matched
Tori Hanson for the team lead with three service aces in the win. Hanson also chipped in 16 digs and a pair of assists as well.
Hailey Richardson led the way for the Warriors with nine kills and eight digs while Kamryn Duffield nearly had a double-double with 15 assists and nine digs in the loss.
After falling behind 2-0, CSP scored six of the next eight to take the lead for good in the opening set. With the lead still at two at 9-7, the Golden Bears pull away with an impressive 9-0 run to build their largest lead of the set at 11. A 7-2 burst in favor of the Warriors a few points later nearly cut the gap in half before Concordia stemmed the tide to roll to a 25-18 win in the first.
The Golden Bears came out firing in the second set as they used a 7-0 run to take an early 8-1 lead. Wayne State struggled to recover as the lead remained five or more for the duration of the set. Concordia put it completely out of reach late as they turned an 18-11 lead into a 25-12 set win with a 7-1 run to close it out.
CSP picked up where they left off in the third as they took the first four points before ballooning their lead to 14-5 following another 6-0 run. The lead hit double figures at 18-8 before growing to as many as 13 at the final margin of 25-12 as they closed out the sweep.
CSP continues play tonight against the host school as they take on #21 Ferris State at 5 p.m. Live stats and webcast will be available for tonight's match.
