FAYETTE, Iowa – The #2 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (7-2, 1-0 NSIC) got off to a strong start in NSIC play with a sweep (26-24, 25-15, 25-17) of Upper Iowa (7-2, 0-1 NSIC) on Thursday night in the conference opener.
 
The Golden Bears continued their dominance of the Peacocks as they improved to 18-0 in the all-time series and 9-0 in Fayette. More impressively, CSP has won 56 of a possible 58 sets against UIU as Concordia took all three on the night. CSP also improved to 15-1 in 16 NSIC season opening matches under Brady Starkey.
 
CSP held a decisive edge in kills with 43 compared to 30 for the Peacocks while collecting a .270 hitting percentage compared to .138 for UIU. The Golden Bears also led in digs at 59-55 as well as 6-4 in service aces.
 
The offense was evenly spread out as three different players finished in double figures on the night. Brooklyn Lewis picked up a match-high 14 kills with a .393 hitting percentage while Hope Schiller and Sara Macek each had ten. Schiller finished off the double-double with 14 digs to bring her career total to 979 while Macek didn't commit a single error for a career-best .714 hitting percentage.
 
Elizabeth Mohr orchestrated the attack with 41 assists while she also grabbed three of the team's six service aces in the match.

In the back row, Tori Hanson hit 20 digs yet again to lead the way while Erin Fallert chipped in 10 digs as well.
 
Anna Winter paced the Peacocks with 11 kills while Malissa LeClaire double-doubled with 22 assists and 19 digs.
 
Upper Iowa built an early 4-1 lead in the first set before doubling up CSP at 10-5 as they got off to a fast start. The Golden Bears closed the gap to one at 12-11 with four straight points, but the Peacocks quickly pushed it back to five at 18-13. Concordia put together another run with seven of the next nine to even the score at 20-20 before UIU took the next two to go back up 22-20. The momentum shifted a few more times as CSP took the lead with three straight before two more for the Peacocks forced set point. The Golden Bears survives the set point as they rattled off a 3-0 run to win the first set 26-24.
 
Concordia's momentum carried over into the second set with six of the first seven to set the tone early. Upper Iowa cut the deficit to two at 8-6 and again at 9-7, but that would be all the closer they would get as a 5-0 run for CSP a few points later made it 16-8. The lead remained in that range throughout the rest of the set before a 4-0 run closed it out at 25-15.
 
It was another fast start in the third set as Concordia scored five of the six and eight of the first 10 to give themselves an early cushion. The lead continued to grow from there are as it reached eight at 15-7 and 10 at 22-12 as CSP remained in full control. The Peacocks chipped it down to six before the Golden Bears finished off the sweep by taking the set 25-17.
 
Concordia returns home for their home opener this Saturday as they play host to Winona State at 5 p.m.