ST. PAUL, Minn. – The #2 Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (13-2, 7-0 NSIC) stormed back from a 2-1 deficit in the match to win the final two sets and pick up a five-set victory (25-27, 25-22, 24-26, 25-15, 15-8) over #10 Southwest Minnesota State (10-5, 5-2 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at Gangelhoff Center.
 
After an hour and 39 minute delay due to an area power outage, the two teams gave the fans their money's worth as they put on a show. Both offenses hit at a solid clip as CSP hit .264 and SMSU hit .303. They combined for 140 kills as Concordia tallied 75 compared to 65 for the Mustangs. Serving proved to be a major difference maker as the Golden Bears held a 12-2 edge in aces. The 12 aces tied for fourth-most in a five-set match at Concordia, tying for the most in the 25-point scoring format.
 
Leading the way in the serving category was Hope Schiller as she also tied a 25-point scoring format, five-set program record with five aces in the win. She also added a double-double with 15 kills and 13 digs.
 
Perhaps the biggest individual performance came from Tori Hanson as the sophomore set the program record in the 25-point scoring format with 34 digs, shattering her previous career high with 27. Hanson's 34 digs were the most in a match for Concordia since Mary Slinger tallied 35 on Dec. 1, 2007. Hanson added another career best as she chipped in 10 assists for her first career double-double.
 
 
Brooklyn Lewis added a massive effort of her own with 20 kills on an efficient .531 hitting percentage. The .531 hitting percentage was a career best as she committed just three errors on her 32 swings. Sara Macek added another efficient output with 11 kills and a .455 hitting percentage.
 
Elizabeth Mohr reached 60 digs for the second time this year as she added 11 digs, three blocks, and two aces for a full stat line. Erin Fallert contributed another double-double, giving the team four on the day, as she had 14 kills and 15 digs as well as a pair of aces.
 
Reigning AVCA National Player of the Year Taylor Reiss did not disappoint as she provided a rare 30-20 score line for the Mustangs. The senior led all players with 30 kills and just three errors while also adding 20 digs. Kaylee Burmeister led SMSU with 24 digs while Emma Thomssen provided a double-double with 53 assists and 18 digs.
 
The first set lived up to expectations as the two teams went back and forth trading kills throughout. The Mustangs were first to strike with six of the first eight points before maintaining a small lead, but the Golden Bears struck back. Trailing 8-5 early on, CSP rattled off a 5-1 run to take a 10-9 lead. From there, the two teams were even 10 times over the final 33 points to finish with 12 ties in the set. Southwest Minnesota State started to gain some separation with a 5-1 run to make it 21-17, but a 5-1 run in favor of CSP erased the deficit and tied it up at 22-22. SMSU forced the first two set points at 24-23 and 25-24 before putting it away with a kill at the 26-25 mark to claim the set 27-25.
 
Both offenses were firing on all cylinders in the opening set as SMSU hit .486 with 20 kills and CSP hit .342 with 17 kills. Reiss led all players with nine kills in the set.
 
The second set also featured double digit ties with 10 as both teams struggled to put together many significant runs. The Mustangs clung to a slim advantage for much of the early portions of the set as they eventually grew their lead to three at 11-8. The Golden Bears responded with five points in a row to match their largest lead of the set to that point before four of the next five went to SMSU to give the Mustangs the lead back at 15-14. Southwest Minnesota State eventually regained their three point edge at 20-17, but they would only manage two more points the rest of the set. Concordia saved their best for last as they finished on an 8-2 run capped by the final four points in a row to win the set 25-22 and even the match at 1-1.
 
The Golden Bears replicated their kill total in the second set with 17 while knocking seven off of SMSU's total and holding them to 13 in the set. Both teams finished with a nearly equal hitting percentage in the set as CSP hit .308 and SMSU hit .306.
 
The third set proved to be a game of runs as the momentum shifted back and forth on several occasions. Concordia delivered the first blow with a 6-2 run to start things off, but a 7-2 run the other way put Southwest Minnesota State out front 9-8. The SMSU lead reached four at 14-10 and again at 15-11 before another run, this time a 6-0 burst for the Golden Bears, gave CSP a 17-15 lead. The momentum shifts continued as a few points later the Mustangs scored six straight points to take a 22-18 lead before the Golden Bears answered with five in a row to go ahead 23-22. SMSU bounced back with two in a row and four of the next five to finish off the set with their second set win beyond 25 at 26-24.
 
The offenses slowed down in the third as SMSU finished at .241 while Concordia hit .149 for the set. CSP did, however, manage a 19-16 edge in kills.
 
After three extremely tight sets, the Golden Bears set the tone for the fourth from the start. CSP scored the first two points and five of the first seven as they led from start to finish. The two teams spent much of the middle of the set trading points as Concordia held a few point lead throughout, but the Golden Bears broke it open late with a strong finish. With the lead still at two at 16-14, Concordia scored five points in a row as a part of a larger 9-1 run to finish with a double digit set win at 25-15 to force a fifth set.
 
Serving played a big role in the set as CSP finished with five aces among their 25 points while SMSU had just one. Concordia also held the Mustangs to just eight kills in the set as well.
 
The momentum carried over into the fifth set as CSP quickly erased a 4-3 SMSU lead to cruise to the victory. The Golden Bears took the lead for good with four of the next five points to make it 7-5 before continuing to add on. A big 5-0 run a few points later turned a 9-7 lead into a 14-7 lead as Concordia went on to complete the comeback with a 15-8 win in the fifth.
 
Concordia put together their best offensive performance on the afternoon in the fifth set as they hit an even .500 on their eight kills as they did not commit an error in the set.
 
CSP hits the road for their next three matches beginning with a meeting between the top two teams in the country at #1 Northern State on Friday night. The Golden Bears follow it up with a Saturday meeting with MSU Moorhead before facing #9 Minnesota on Oct. 3 in non-conference action.