SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The second-ranked Concordia Golden Bears volleyball team (23-3, 16-2 NSIC) saw their 16 match unbeaten run snapped at Sioux Falls (16-9, 12-6 NSIC) in a five-set loss (19-25, 25-14, 25-15, 22-25, 8-15) on Saturday afternoon in CSP's final NSIC road contest of the year.
 
CSP fell to 13-6 in the all-time series and 5-2 at Sioux Falls as the Cougars picked up their third win in the last six meetings and second in the last three on their home court.
 
The two teams could not have been much closer statistically on the day as Concordia had an 81-80 edge in points while USF had a 66-65 edge in kills. The Golden Bears held a slim 10.0-8.0 advantage in blocks while the Cougars finished with a 56-55 advantage in digs. Both teams tallied six aces. CSP also held a .309-.296 hitting edge, but that advantage disappeared in the final two sets as USF held a .432-.281 edge in the fourth and an even bigger .714-.118 edge in the fifth.
 
Concordia had a pair of hitters register career-highs in kills as Emma Schmidt tallied her fourth double-double in the past five matches with 21 kills and 13 digs while Katie Mattson filled the box score with 17 kills, five blocks, three digs and a .481 hitting percentage. Jasmine Mulvihill joined them in double figures with 11 kills to go along with six digs, two blocks and two aces.
 
Teagan Starkey reached 50 assists for the eighth time on the year, putting up 56 assists, 12 digs and two aces for her fifth double-double on the season. Ellie Sieling gave CSP three in double digits in digs with 10 while Sophia Andersen matched Mattson for the team lead with five blocks to go along with eight kills and four digs.
 
Courtney Holsteen led the Cougars with 16 kills while Sadie Voss added a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs in the win. Elise Gillen and Davis Guetterman split the setting duties as Gillen finished with 30 assists and Guetterman contributed 26 in the match.
 
The Cougars got off to a fast start in the first with five of the first six points as they led virtually start to finish in the set. The lead grew to eight at 14-6 and again at 22-14 before CSP cut it back to five at 23-18 with a 4-1 run. That would be all the closer they would get as Sioux Falls took the set 25-19.
 
The momentum shifted heavily in Concordia's favor in the second set as they scored eight of the first nine points before quickly ballooning the lead to double figures at 14-3. The Cougars managed to trim it back to seven at 17-10, but a late 5-0 run for the Golden Bears put it out of reach as they evened the match with a 25-14 set win.
 
Concordia continued their strong play in the third by scoring the first three points en route to a wire-to-wire victory. With the lead at two at 12-10, CSP gave themselves some breathing room with a 5-0 run to make it 17-10. Another 5-1 run in the closing stages extended the final margin to 10 at 25-15 as the Golden Bears took a 2-1 lead.
 
The fourth set proved to be the most hard fought on the night as it featured 10 of the 11 ties and all four lead changes. The score was tied as late as 20-20 before a 4-0 run in favor of Sioux Falls forced set point. CSP survived the first two set points but couldn't erase a third as USF forced a fifth set with a 25-22 win.
 
The Cougars picked up where they left off in the fifth as they rattled off five of the first six points and seven of the first nine to take control early. The lead would not shrink below four the rest of the way as USF cruised to a 15-8 win to complete the comeback victory.
 
CSP closes out the regular season next weekend as they take on Augustana on Friday and Wayne State on Saturday at Gangelhoff Center.