WINONA, Minn. – The fifth-ranked Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (13-4, 7-2 NSIC) saw their five-match winning streak come to a close as they dropped the final three sets in a four-set loss at 20^th-ranked Winona State (14-3, 6-3 NSIC) on Tuesday night.
 
The Golden Bears dropped 32-9 in the all-time series as the Warriors picked up just their second win in the series in the past 32 meetings dating back to 2000.
 
After coming out with a massive 17 kills and a .424 hitting percentage in their first-set win, CSP was held below .150 in each of the final three sets of the night to finish at .148 (48-27-142). The WSU offense perhaps even more impressive than their defense as they hit over .350 in three of four sets to put up a mark of .317 (61-17-139) in the match. The Wildcats also held a 58-51 edge in digs as well as a 55-47 edge in assists as well as an 8-6 edge in total blocks. CSP did manage a 9-4 advantage in service aces on the night.
 
Tori Hanson provided a bright spot for the Golden Bears with 20 of the team's 51 digs to go along with seven assists and three aces in a full stat line. Makenna Berger and Erin Fallert each chipped in eight digs while Payton Nutter put up seven to go along with 38 assists in the match. Fallert and Nutter each contributed a pair of aces as well.
 
Sara Macek was the team's top offensive producer with 13 kills while Jasmine Mulvihill also reached double figures with 11 kills.
 
Megan Flom was nearly unstoppable offensively for Winona State as she led all players with 24 kills on 40 attempts with just one error for a massive .575 hitting percentage. She was the top target for WSU setter Bre Maloney, who put up 49 assists as well as 15 digs, while Paige Christopher and Madison Rizner each reached double digits in kills as well.
 
The Golden Bears found themselves playing with a slim lead for much of the early portions of the opening set as they led by a point or two until a 3-0 run gave them an 11-8 advantage. The lead remained at three two points later before the Warriors tied the score back up at 12-12 and took the lead at 17-16. Winona State held that lead for a bit as they eventually pushed it to two at 21-19, but they were only able to manage two more points the rest of the way as CSP surged to take the set 25-23 with a 6-2 run.
 
The second set followed a similar script as Concordia erased a 3-1 deficit with a 5-0 run before maintaining a lead of a few points until midway through the set. Still up three at 12-9, WSU turned things around with the next four in a row to take a 13-12 lead. The Golden Bears answered with a point to tie it back up, but they would not lead again in the set as the Warriors held them off before using a 3-0 run to close out a 25-22 set win to even the match at 1-1.
 
CSP led early again in the third as they held a 6-4 advantage, but that lead quickly disintegrated as 10 of the next 12 went in favor of Winona State as they jumped ahead 14-8. Another 6-0 run later in the set pushed the lead to double figures as 22-11 as the Warriors went on to win the set comfortably by a score of 25-15.
 
The Golden Bears came out firing with a 6-0 run early in the fourth set to take an 8-2 lead, but that lead would not last. Six of the next seven and 10 of the next 13 went in favor of Winona State as they turned a six-point deficit into a one-point lead at 12-11. The Concordia regained the lead with the next four in a row and still held a three-point edge as late as 20-17, but it was all Warriors from there as they rattled off eight of the last 10 to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.
 
The Golden Bears remain on the road this weekend as they travel to Minot State on Friday at 5 p.m. and Mary on Saturday at 2 p.m.