SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The sixth-seeded #14 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (22-8) fell in four sets (25-17, 32-34, 13-25, 23-25) to third-seeded Augustana (19-10) in the NSIC Tournament quarterfinal on Thursday afternoon at Sanford Pentagon.
The Vikings advance to face second-seeded Winona State in the semis on Friday at 4:30 p.m. while the Golden Bears, who entered the tournament ranked seventh in the NCAA Central Region Rankings, await their fate in the NCAA selection show on Monday, Nov. 22 at 6:30 p.m. (CT). The selection show will be streamed on NCAA.com.
The loss drops CSP to 26-7 all-time in the NSIC Tournament as they fell in the quarterfinals for just the second time in 13 trips. It was also Concordia's second loss all-time in 29 meetings with Augustana as the Vikings claimed their first win over the Golden Bears since 1988.
Jasmine Mulvihill collected her ninth double-double of the season while matching her season best with 22 kills, a mark she has now hit three times. She committed just six errors on her 40 attempts to finish with a .400 hitting percentage to go along with her 10 digs.
Tori Hanson and
Emma Schmidt matched each other with a team-best 13 digs in the contest while Hanson added four assists and Schmidt had nine kills and three aces.
Teagan Starkey compiled 32 assists while
Ellie Veldman chipped in 16.
Maddy Guetter was the go-to hitter for the Vikings as she also finished with 22 kills in addition to 17 digs and a pair of aces in the win. Payton Rosendahl and Kate Reimann added 13 kills apiece while Avery Thorson picked up 50 assists on the day.
After the Vikings opened the match with three of the first four points, Concordia responded with a 7-2 run to build an 8-5 lead. Augustana closed the gap back to one at 9-8 before an 8-2 burst extended the lead all the way out to 17-10. CSP would not let the lead shrink below five the rest of the way as they finished on a 5-2 run to take the set 25-17.
The second set proved to be a wild one as the two teams combined to face set point 11 times, with Concordia facing it eight times, before the Vikings won it. Augustana got off to another fast start in the second set as they opened on a 6-3 run to build an early lead. CSP tied it up at 8-8 before Augie jumped back in front at 12-10. Concordia took control from there with three straight points to take the lead before extending it to 18-14 with a 5-1 run following a Viking kill. With the lead still at four at 20-16, the Vikings rattled off eight of the next 10 points to force set point at 24-22. The Golden Bears stayed alive as they erased back-to-back set points followed by two more at 25-24 and 26-25 before taking the lead at 27-26. Augie responded with two points in a row to force yet another set point, but CSP survived two more at 28-27 and 29-28 before regaining the edge at 30-29. That proved to be their final lead as Augie grabbed the next two to force set point for a sixth time. Concordia battled back two more times before Augie closed out the marathon of a set with a 34-32 win to even the match at 1-1.
The momentum carried over into the third set for Augustana as they used an early 4-0 run to pull ahead 5-3. With the score tied at 6-6, the Vikings gave themselves some breathing room with an 11-3 run to make it 17-9. After CSP took two of the next three points, Augie grabbed the next six in a row and seven of nine to win the set 25-13.
The Golden Bears rebounded to start the fourth as they doubled up Augustana early at 8-4 and remained up four at 9-5, but the Vikings surged out front with a 12-2 run to take a 17-11 lead. Concordia clawed their way back within two points with a 6-2 run to make it 19-17 before the two teams went back and forth down the stretch. A 3-0 run for CSP a few points later turned a 21-18 deficit into a tie as they looked to extend the match, but the Vikings claimed the next three points to force match point at 24-21. Concordia was able to stay alive with a kill an ace, but a Guetter kill sealed the 25-23 victory for Augie.
