ST. PAUL, Minn. – The #6 Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (9-2, 3-0 NSIC) extended their streak to nine consecutive sets won to begin NSIC play as they swept (25-11, 25-23, 25-23) Upper Iowa (8-4, 1-2 NSIC) on Wednesday night at Gangelhoff Center.
 
The Golden Bears remained unbeaten against the Peacocks as they collected their 20^th win in a row against Upper Iowa.
 
While CSP came out on top in all three sets in the contest, they trailed late in each of the final two sets before storming back and claiming victory. The Golden Bears tallied their third straight performance .350+ hitting percentage to start conference play as they hit .363 with 49 kills and nine errors on 102 attempts. The Peacocks, on the other side, hit .202 with 40 kills and 19 errors on 104 attempts.
 
Concordia added a 7.0-3.0 edge in blocks and a 5-3 edge in aces while the scrappy Peacocks finished with a 39-37 advantage in digs.
 
Jasmine Mulvihill finished with her highest kill total in a three-set match on the season as she led all players with 19 kills and a .500 hitting percentage in the win. The sophomore chipped in six digs and three blocks as well. Sophia Andersen joined her in double figures with 13 kills and a .440 hitting percentage.
 
Ellianna Wiertsema collected a career-best 10 digs and three aces as she matched Tori Hanson for the team lead in digs. Teagan Starkey added a career high of her own with 38 assists to go along with three digs, two blocks and an ace.
 
The Golden Bears grabbed the first four points of the match and eight of the first 10 to build an early advantage in the opening set. The Peacocks trimmed the margin back to three at 10-7, but it was all Golden Bears the rest of the way as they scored 10 of the next 12 as a part of an extended 15-4 run to win the set 25-11.
 
The script was flipped early in the second set as Upper Iowa started on an 8-2 run before growing their lead to as many as nine at 12-3. Concordia chipped away at the UIU lead with 10 of the next 13 points to pull within two at 15-13 before the Peacocks slowed the momentum to stay out front. The lead remained at three at 20-17 before a 4-1 burst for CSP evened up the score at 21-21. Upper Iowa regained the lead at 22-21 and again at 23-22, but the Golden Bears closed on a 3-0 run to win it 25-23.
 
The third set proved to be the most back and forth of the night with 13 ties and seven lead changes throughout. The first lead larger than two points didn't come until the Peacocks rode a 5-1 run to take a 15-12 lead. They held a three-point edge again at 18-15 before CSP stormed back out front with the next four points in a row. Upper Iowa once again found themselves within striking distance of taking the set with a 23-22 lead before yet another 3-0 run to close it out gave Concordia a 25-23 set win and a sweep of the match.
 
The Golden Bears will look to stay unbeaten in conference action this weekend as they hit the road to MSU Moorhead and Northern State to kick off a four-match road trip.