SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The #5 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (18-3, 12-0 NSIC) extended their unbeaten run in conference play to 12 as they swept (26-24, 25-22, 25-20) Sioux Falls (12-8, 7-5 NSIC) on the road on Friday night.
The 12-match winning streak in NSIC action this season marks their longest winning streak in league play since starting the 2013 season 19-0, surpassing their 11-match winning streak to close out the 2017 season. The Golden Bears also improved to 12-5 in the all-time series with USF and 5-1 in six trips to Sioux Falls.
Concordia utilized a consistent attack throughout the night as they hit .333 or better in all three sets to finish at .353, collecting 51 kills on 102 attempts. On the other side of the net, the Cougars tallied a .279 hitting percentage with 43 kills on 104 attempts. CSP added a slim 31-27 edge in digs to go along with a 10.5-6.0 edge in blocks and a 5-1 edge in service aces.
The duo of
Jasmine Mulvihill and
Emma Schmidt paced the offense as they combined for 33 of the team's 51 kills on the night. Mulvihill finished with a team-leading 18 kills while falling one block shy of her career best with seven and also chipping in four digs and three aces. Schmidt was nearly perfect offensively as she collected 15 kills with no errors on 22 swings to finish with a .682 hitting percentage to go along with 12 digs.
Teagan Starkey and
Ellie Veldman split the setting duties as Starkey finished with 28 and Veldman added 17.
Tori Hanson led the team with 12 digs in the win.
Jordan Kuper and Averey Yaksich matched each other for the team lead in kills for the Cougars with 10.
Concordia opened the match with four of the first five points, but the Cougars turned it in their favor from there. USF tied it up at 6-6 before pulling out to a 14-10 lead midway through the set. That lead eventually grew to six at 21-15, but it was all Golden Bears the rest of the way as they claimed six of the next seven to pull within one and 11 of 14 to win it. Facing set point at 24-23 CSP closed out the run with three in a row to bring it to the final score of 26-24.
An even start to the second set saw USF cling to a thin 10-8 advantage before an extended 10-3 run put the Golden Bears in front 18-13. Sioux Falls managed to chip away and tie it at 20-20, but that would be all the closer they would get as Concordia closed on a 5-2 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-22 set win in the second.
For the third straight set, the Cougars led in the early going as they used a 6-2 run to build an 11-5 advantage. That advantage would not last as 10 of the next 13 went in favor of the Golden Bears as CSP took the lead at 15-14. USF tied it at 15-15 and again at 16-16, but they would manage just four points the rest of the way as Concordia cruised to a 25-20 victory to close out the sweep.
Concordia will look to keep their run going tomorrow afternoon as they take on #14 Southwest Minnesota State at 2 p.m.
