ST. PAUL, Minn. – The sixth-ranked Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (18-4, 12-2 NSIC) erased late deficits in both the second and third sets to complete the sweep (25-19, 26-24, 27-25) of Minnesota State (15-7, 8-6 NSIC) on the road on Halloween night.
 
CSP made it 13 consecutive wins over the Mavericks as they moved to 31-4 in the all-time series. The win also moved CSP into a three-way tie for first place in the NSIC with Minnesota Duluth and Northern State as the Bulldogs fell in four sets at St. Cloud State.
 
The Golden Bears stifled the Mavericks as they held MSU to .159 or below in all three sets in the win. Minnesota State finished at just .118 with 35 kills on the night. CSP's offense, on the other hand, collected 50 kills on a mark of .241 to pick up the win.
 
Jasmine Mulvihill played a big role both offensively and defensively as she paced all players with 21 kills, five blocks and a pair of aces while also chipping in eight digs in a versatile effort. She was the lone Golden Bear in double figures in kills as Erin Fallert added eight kills and nine digs while Sara Macek finished with eight kills and four blocks.
 
Tori Hanson finished with a team-best 14 digs to go along with four assists and two aces while Makenna Berger chipped in 12 digs in the win. Payton Nutter nearly added a double-double with 39 assists and eight digs.
 
Morgan Olson led Minnesota State with 15 kills while Mara Quam led all players with 20 digs in the loss.
 
Concordia came out firing with seven of the first eight points of the match to set the tone early. The Golden Bears continued to maintain a comfortable edge throughout much of the set, pushing it to as many as seven at 17-10 before MSU chipped away. The Mavericks closed the gap to four at 20-16 following a 6-3 run and they kept it there as late as 23-19, but CSP grabbed the final two points to win the set 25-19.
 
It was the Mavericks that jumped ahead early in the second set with three of the first four points and five of the first eight before CSP turned the tide in their favor. Concordia rattled off seven of 10 to take a 10-6 lead, but MSU was quickly back even at 13-13 with a 7-3 run of their own. The Golden Bears rattled off three straight points a few points later to build a 20-17 edge, but Minnesota State answered once again with a 6-2 burst to pull ahead 23-22. That lead proved to be short-lived, however, as CSP regained the lead with two in a row before taking the set 26-24.
 
CSP found themselves in an early hole again in the third as MSU opened with three of four and six of nine before pushing their advantage all the way out to six at 13-7. Concordia responded with six of 10 to pull within four before the Mavericks ballooned the lead out to seven at 21-14 with a 4-1 run. The momentum shifted heavily from there as the Golden Bears put together a crucial 8-2 run to pull within one at 23-22. Minnesota State forced a set point with the next point, but CSP continued their push as they followed with three in a row to take the lead and five of six to win the set 27-25 in dramatic fashion.
 
Concordia returns home to Gangelhoff Center for a matchup with Upper Iowa on Saturday at 5 p.m.