SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The seventh-ranked Concordia Golden Bears volleyball (10-3, 4-1 NSIC) bounced back from a first set loss to defeat Augustana (10-4, 3-2 NSIC) in four sets (19-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-17) on the road on Friday night.
For the sixth time in the past seven meetings, the Golden Bears and Vikings went beyond three sets, but the match ended with the same result of each of the previous seven as CSP extended their winning streak to 25 in the all-time series with Augie.
After seeing the Vikings pull away late in the opening set, the Golden took care of business in each of the next three sets to claim the victory. It was a strong defensive effort that made the difference as CSP held a 68-57 advantage in digs while holding Augustana to just .107 hitting. Concordia limited Augie to just 35 kills with 21 errors on 131 swings while collecting 52 kills with 29 errors on 143 swings on the offensive end for a mark of .161.
Concordia's 68 digs were spread out fairly evenly as with five different players finished with double-digit digs in the win, led by 15 apiece from
Tori Hanson and
Erin Fallert. Fallert added a team-best 17 kills with a .357 hitting percentage while Hanson chipped in four assists.
Payton Nutter and
Jasmine Mulvihill each added a double-doubles of her own as Nutter with a career-best 45 assists to go along with 12 digs while Mulvihill tacked on 13 kills and 12 digs. It was also a career night for
Riley Decker as she reached double figures for the first time with 11 digs.
Kennedy Brady joined Fallert and Mulvihill in double figures in kills with 11 kills and a team-high five blocks.
The Vikings also had three players finish with 10+ digs as Avery Thorson, Grace Haberland and Erika Bute all finished with 10 in the loss. Thorson added 28 assists for the double-double as well.
After the two teams split the first eight points of the match, CSP took control with four straight points to build an 8-4 edge. The lead remained two or more throughout much of the set until the Vikings used a massive 11-0 run to turn a 15-11 deficit into a 22-15 lead. The Golden Bears battled back with four straight points to cut it to three, but Augie finished off the 25-19 set win with a 3-0 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set featured five ties through the first 10 points before Concordia built the decisive advantage. CSP followed with a 5-1 run to make it 10-6 before extending their lead to six at 16-10 following another 3-0 burst. After the Vikings broke the streak with a point, the Golden Bears answered back with four more in a row to balloon their lead to 20-11. CSP remained comfortably in front the rest of the way as they cruised to a 25-15 win in the second to even up the match at 1-1.
Concordia came out firing in the third set as they scored the first four points and seven of the first eight to open up a big lead. That lead proved to be short-lived, however, as Augustana responded with eight of the next 10 to tie the score at 9-9. CSP regained a three-point edge at 13-10, but the Vikings answered with a 5-1 run to take their first lead of the set. It was back and forth from there with seven ties and three lead changes over the next 14 points. Trailing 21-20, CSP finished out the set on a 5-1 run to build a 2-1 advantage with a 25-22 set win.
It was yet another even set in the fourth with nine ties throughout as neither side was able to gain much momentum until late. Concordia led by three at 9-6 but the Vikings were back even at 14-14 and again at 15-15. The Golden Bears really turned it on from there as they rattled off a huge 10-2 run to win the set 25-17 as they claimed the match in four.
Concordia will look to move to 4-0 on the road in conference play tomorrow afternoon as they travel to Wayne State for a 4 p.m. start.
