SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The #3 Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (11-2, 5-0 NSIC) made it eight straight wins as they survived for a five-set victory (18-25, 25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 15-12) at Augustana (5-8, 0-5 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon.
 
While the Golden Bears saw their streak of 21 consecutive set wins come to a close, they did win their eighth straight match overall and fifth straight to start the conference season. CSP's five straight NSIC wins to start the year also brings their streak to 16 straight wins in league play dating back to Oct. 7, 2017. Concordia added to another streak as they won their 10^th in a row against the Vikings to improve their all-time mark to 24-1 in the series.
 
In a match where Concordia racked up 88 digs as a team, Tori Hanson provided a match-best and career-best 26 digs to lead the way. The sophomore eclipsed 20 digs for the fifth time in 13 matches as she passed her mark of 25 digs in the season opener.
 
Hanson had some help in the back row as five different Golden Bears reached double figures in digs in the win. Hope Schiller tallied 16 digs to go along with 15 kills, three aces and three blocks while Elizabeth Mohr also chipped in a double-double with 57 assists and 13 digs. The double-double was the fifth of the season for Schiller while Mohr went 50-10 for the second time on the year. Erin Fallert and Taylor Soine also reached 10+ digs as Fallert had 12 digs and Soine had 11.
 
Offensively, Brooklyn Lewis was once again a dominant force with a season-high 25 kills on 45 swings as she hit .422 for the match. The senior fell one kills short of her career high while surpassing her previous season high of 22 set against Texas A&M-Commerce on Aug. 31.
 
In addition to Lewis and Schiller's output, Sydney Book and Sara Macek each registered nine kills as CSP collected 70 kills on the day.
 
The Vikings managed to out-hit Concordia .282-.260 and out-blocked the Golden Bears 8-4, but they were unable to turn it into a win. Courtney Place was a big time contributer on the day for the Vikings as she put up a massive double-double with 24 kills and 14 digs. Hanna Justesen chipped in 23 digs and Avery Thorson added 42 assists in the loss.
 
CSP took an early lead with a 4-2 run to start off the match, but the Vikings quickly took control with a run of their own. With the Golden Bears leading 6-4, five out of six points in favor of Augie gave them the lead for good. Augustana continued to add to their lead in what was an extended 11-3 run, capped by five straight points to make it 15-9. Concordia was held at bay the rest of the way as the lead fluctuated between four and seven for the duration of the set as the Vikings went on to take the opener 25-18.
 
The two teams traded points in the early going of the second set with eight ties through the first 20 points to bring it to a score of 10-10. From there, CSP shifted the momentum with three in a row and six of eight to jump ahead 16-12 midway through the set. The Golden Bears maintained a comfortable lead throughout the rest of the set as they cruised to a 25-20 set win in the second to even up the match at 1-1.
 
The Golden Bears looked primed to run away with the third set with six of the first seven points, but the Vikings chipped away to even things up. After a few points went back and forth, the Vikings strung together a 7-1 run to take the lead at 11-10 to temporarily take the lead. A second 6-1 run in the set for CSP gave them a four point edge as they grabbed a 16-12 advantage, but Augustana battled back yet again to tie it up at 19-19. Concordia responded with four of five to take the decisive lead before finishing off the set 25-22.
 
Augustana struck back with a strong showing in the fourth set to force a fifth set. After jumping ahead 4-1 in the set, the Vikings kept the Golden Bears from taking the lead as they had an answer for every CSP run. With the score even at 7-7, Augie used an extended 9-5 run to create some breathing room midway through. Concordia pulled back within two at 18-16, but that would be all the closer they would get as the Vikings rolled to a 25-20 win in the set to stay alive in the match.
 
Concordia bounced back with a strong start in the fifth as they scored three straight to build a quick 4-1 lead. Augie pulled within one at 7-6 before two straight pushed it back to three as CSP held onto their lead. After seeing their lead reduced to one again at 10-9, another Golden Bear push put it out of reach as they scored three in a row and four of five to force match point at 14-10. The Vikings survived a pair of match points, but a Kennedy Brady kill finished off a 15-12 set win and 3-2 win in the match.
 
Concordia returns to Gangelhoff Center next weekend with Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State coming to town. The Golden Bears will take on the Cougars at 6 p.m. on Friday and the Mustangs at 2 p.m. on Saturday.