ST. PAUL, Minn. – The #10 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (19-7, 13-4 NSIC) was swept (12-25, 24-26, 20-25) by Northern State (16-9, 11-6 NSIC) on Parent's Night at Gangelhoff Center on Friday night.
The Golden Bears fell to 35-10 in the all-time series as the Wolves claimed their third win in the last 38 matches between the two schools since 2003 and their fourth win in 26 matches in St. Paul.
Northern State's block made things tough for CSP with 10.0 blocks while holding the Golden Bears to .100 hitting on the night. The Wolves, on the other end, hit .298 while also tallying a 44-41 dig advantage and a 5-2 ace advantage in the win.
Jasmine Mulvihill provided a bright spot for Concordia with 12 kills and six digs on the night while
Payton Stier paced the squad with 12 digs and
Ellianna Wiertsema added 11.
Kennedy Brady and
Emma Schmidt each chipped in eight kills while Brady had three blocks, including two solo blocks.
Sally Gaul led the way with 12 kills while Havyn Heinz chipped in 12 digs in the win for the Wolves.
In the opening set, the two teams split the first 12 points of the match before Northern State took control with six straight points as a part of a larger 14-2 run to build a 20-8 edge. The lead would not shrink below 11 the rest of the way as NSU took the set 25-12.
Concordia turned the tide with six of the first eight points in the second set, but Northern State came storming back to tie the score at 11-11. CSP jumped back in front with a 3-0 run from there, but the Wolves battled back to regain the lead at 19-18. The two teams traded points until the Golden Bears forced set point at 24-23, but the Wolves responded with three in a row to win the set 26-24.
It was CSP that struck first again in the third with four of the first five points before NSU tied it up at 4-4. Neither team built a lead larger than three until the late stages of the set as Northern State turned a 15-13 deficit into a 19-16 lead with a 6-1 run. Another 3-0 run later in the set gave the Wolves some breathing room as they won it 25-20 to complete the sweep.
Concordia closes out the home slate tomorrow on Senior Night as they take on MSU Moorhead at 5p.m.
