DENVER, Colo. – The #10 Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (3-2) turned the tide after a first-set loss to pick up a four-set win over West Florida (2-3) in the opening match of the Colorado Premier Challenge on Friday afternoon.
The Argonauts came out firing with a decisive 25-18 set win in the first, but the Golden Bears completely took over from there as they rattled off three straight impressive set wins by scores of 25-14, 25-20 and 25-14 to win the match.
After seeing UWF hit .300 as a team in the opening set, CSP buckled down to hold the Argonauts to .121 or below in each of the final three sets. West Florida finished at .129 (45-27-140) for the match. It was a similar shift on the offensive end as Concordia was held to .097 in the first set before putting up marks of .265 or better over the final three sets to finish at .261 (55-19-138) overall. The Golden Bears added a 4-2 advantage in aces as well as a 61-56 advantage in digs and an 11-9 advantage in blocks.
For the third time in five matches,
Erin Fallert tallied a double-double as she finished with a match-high 17 kills and 19 digs in an impressive performance. The junior outside hitter further filled the stat sheet with three blocks and a service ace while hitting a solid .424 on her 33 swings.
Tori Hanson matched Fallert's dig total with 19 while
Makenna Berger also reached double figures with 13.
Payton Nutter set a career high with 33 assists to go along with five digs and a pair of aces while
Ellie Veldman followed with 18 assists.
Jasmine Mulvihill gave CSP two players in double digits in kills with 12 kills while putting up a career-best five blocks. It was also a career day in the blocks category for
Kennedy Brady as she collected seven blocks to go along with seven kills in the win.
Jordyn Poppen put up a double-double to pace West Florida as she finished with 13 kills and 11 digs while Ashton Marshall led the team with 13 digs.
After the two teams traded points in the early going, UWF took the lead with a 4-0 run to pull ahead 6-2. Concordia managed to shrink the gap to one at 7-6 and again at 12-11, but the Argonauts built a comfortable edge with five in a row to make it 17-11. Another 5-0 stretch a few points later ballooned the lead to a set-high eight points at 23-15 before they settled with a 25-18 set win.
The Golden Bears wasted no time in turning play in their favor to start the second set as they scored seven of the first eight to build a solid lead. CSP continued to maintain a slim advantage of two or more through the middle portions of the set before another 7-1 burst pushed the lead to double figures at 23-13. After UWF broke the run with a point, Concordia grabbed the final two of the set to even the match at 1-1.
Concordia slowly built an edge early in the third as they reached a six point advantage at 11-5, but West Florida fought their way back in front with a 9-2 run to make it 14-13 in their favor. That lead would be short-lived, however, as six of seven in favor of the Golden Bears gave them the lead for good. UWF briefly clawed their way back to within two, but that would be all the closer they would get as CSP gained control in the match with a 25-20 set win.
The Argonauts fought to even the match back up with four of the first five as a part of a larger 9-5 run to start the next set, but CSP held them to just five points the rest of the set as they took care of business in the fourth. The Golden Bears strung together an incredible 18-3 run to put it out of reach before cruising to take the set 25-14.
The Golden Bears will continue action in the tournament tonight as they take on #11 Ferris State at 7 p.m.
