ST. Paul, Minn. - The fourth-ranked Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (13-3, 7-0 NSIC) returns to NSIC play this weekend as they host Bemidji State (0-15, 0-7 NSIC) on Friday and Minnesota Crookston (1-11, 0-7 NSIC) on Saturday for Homecoming weekend.

HOMECOMING 2021
This Saturday's volleyball match between CSP and UMC marks Concordia's homecoming with a 5 p.m. start following the noon football game against Bemidji State at Sea Foam Stadium. Fans who have purchased a Homecoming wristband receive free admission to football and volleyball on Saturday, Comet's Carnival which is open from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday on the Sea Foam Stadium plaza, and soccer on Sunday. Perks for the wristband include unlimited rides and food! Prices are $30 for adults (13+), $15 for children (4-12) with children three and younger free. CSP students (with ID) will receive free admission. Register by midnight on Wednesday night at one.csp.edu/homecoming2021, or purchase a wristband at the registration tent at Sea Foam Stadium on gameday. Those who have already purchased tickets to the game can proceed to the registration tent to purchase a wristband for $15 for adults (13+) and $10 for children (4-12) with children three and under free.

WATCH ONLINE – NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC volleyball matches will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, supported by BlueFrame Technology. Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Search "NSIC Network" and download the app for the league's full sport and team lineups. NSIC NETWORK FAQ
 
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear athletics.
 
BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
New this year to Golden Bears is online ticketing. Buy tickets in advance and bring your QR code to the gates to skip the line! Friends and families who utilize the pass list will also be utilizing the online ticketing service while all students, faculty & staff will access their free CSP tickets through the service. Fans do not need to create a login, remember a username or password or download an app to purchase tickets, and tickets can still be purchased with cash at the gates. Find out more in the partnership announcement between CSP Athletics and HomeTown Ticketing.

BEMIDJI STATE SERIES HISTORY
On Friday, the Golden Bears meet the Beavers for the 45th time in program history as Concordia enters with a record of 35-8-1 against BSU. Concordia has held a decisive edge in recent history in the series with 33 consecutive wins dating back to the 2002 season. During that span, all but three of Concordia's wins have been sweeps. In 21 meetings in St. Paul, CSP is 19-3.

LAST MEETING VS BSU
Back on Nov. 16, 2019, the Golden Bears closed out the regular season with a sweep of Bemidji State on Senior Night at Gangelhoff Center.

It was an impressive all-around performance for the Golden Bears as they hit an efficient .377 with massive 18.33 kills per set while holding the Beavers to .093 hitting with just 22 total kills. CSP added a 7.0-2.0 edge in blocks as well as a 47-29 edge in digs on the night.
 
Jasmine Mulvihill finished off a dominant individual conference campaign as she claimed the crown as NSIC kills leader with 4.68 kills per set in the 20 league matches. She finished in style with 20 kills in just three sets (6.67 per set) while hitting .441.
 
Erin Fallert added a double-double with 11 kills and a team-best 14 digs while Tori Hanson followed close behind with 13 digs and Makenna Berger added 10.
 
MINNESOTA CROOKSTON SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's contest between CSP and Minnesota Crookston marks the 38th meeting between the two programs with Concordia holding a 34-3 edge in the previous meetings. After three straight wins for Minnesota Crookston to begin the series, Concordia has rattled off 34 wins in a row with 31 sweeps dating back to 2000. Minnesota Crookston's last win in the series came back on Oct. 29, 1999 in St. Paul. In 18 meetings all-time in St. Paul, CSP has won 17 of them.

LAST MEETING VS UMC
In the last meeting back on Nov. 15, 2019, Concordia swept Minnesota Crookston at Gangelhoff Center.

CSP was forced to grind out the victory offensively as they were held to .238 hitting with 51 kills and 21 errors on 126 swings while the defense limited UMC to just a .185 mark with 31 kills on the night. Concordia also tallied a 10-2 edge in service aces as well as a 56-43 edge in digs in the win.
 
Makenna Berger played a big role in the serving battle as she matched the program record in the 25 point scoring format with six aces in the match while also chipping in a team-leading 15 digs as well as five kills. Her six aces were the most since Elizabeth Mohr put up that total against Wayne State back on Oct. 20, 2017.
 
Jasmine Mulvihill reached 20+ kills for the sixth time this season as she led all players with 21 kills with 12 digs and a .302 hitting percentage. Kennedy Brady joined her in double figures with 10 kills and a .563 hitting percentage while Jamie Guptill added a spark with four kills on five swings. Tori Hanson added 13 digs as well.

LAST TIME OUT
On Tuesday night, fourth-ranked Concordia-St. Paul volleyball saw their seven-match winning streak come to an end as they fell to ninth-ranked Winona State at Gangelhoff Center.

While both teams finished with similar hitting percentages with WSU at .239 and CSP at .216, Winona State utilized advantages in digs and at the serving line to aid the win. WSU held a 72-62 edge in digs as well as a 6-4 edge in aces while Concordia finished with 15 service errors and Winona State had seven.
 
Tori Hanson made it three straight matches with 22 digs or more as she led all players with 23 on the night, matching her season high set last Friday at SCSU. Ellianna Wiertsema added 11 digs while Emma Schmidt chipped in 10. Schmidt also contributed 13 kills for the double-double.
 
Schmidt was joined by Sophia Andersen and Jasmine Mulvihill in double figures in kills as Andersen led the team with 15 kills and a .344 hitting percentage while Mulvihill had 11 kills, seven digs and three aces. Ellie Veldman dished out 47 assists on the night.
 
IN THE POLLS
The Golden Bears remained at #4 in the poll following a pair of road wins against top-25 opponents over the weekend. Concordia has been a mainstay near the top of the poll for nearly two decades as they haven't ranked outside the top-10 since 2003. The Golden Bears have spent an incredible 84 weeks at #1 since they debuted there in the 2004 preseason poll. Since the 2007 season, CSP has ranked #1 at least once in all but one season.

CONFERENCE LEADERS
So far this season, the Golden Bears have gotten production throughout their lineup as six different players that rank in the top-20 in the league in at least one statistical category this season.

Jasmine Mulvihill and Sophia Andersen both rank inside the top-20 in kills per set as Mulvihill sits in sixth with 3.69 kills per set while Andersen sits in 17th with 2.81. Kennedy Brady also ranks near the top in hitting percentage as she ranks seventh at .344. Brady also ranks eighth in blocks per set at 1.13.

Ellie Veldman registers in at fourth in the conference and 11th in the nation in assists per set at 10.58 while Tori Hanson ranks sixth in digs per set at 4.36. Emma Schmidt adds the 10th-most service aces per set at 0.35.

CLIMBING THE RANKS
After reaching the 1,000 career dig mark late in her sophomore season, senior libero Tori Hanson is now within striking distance of 2,000 in her career at Concordia. Hanson currently ranks third in DII-era history at CSP with 1,950 digs, sitting 264 shy of Megan Graham in second, and third in service aces with 142, 23 shy of Jessica Lucia in second.