ST. PAUL, Minn. - The third-ranked and second-seeded Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (26-5) is set to face seventh-seeded and 13th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney (28-5) in the NCAA Central Region Volleyball Tournament quarterfinal on Friday at 2:30 p.m. on the campus of Wayne State in Wayne, Neb.

NEBRASKA-KEARNEY SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and the Lopers are no strangers in NCAA Tournament play as this season's matchup marks their sixth meeting in postseason play since 2008. CSP holds a record of 4-1 in the previous five meetings, including a five-set win in last season's Central Region semifinals in Warrensburg, Mo. CSP has gone 2-0 on their home court and 2-0 at neutral sites while UNK claimed their lone win in 2019 in Kearney.

LAST MEETING VS UNK
Back on Dec. 3 in Warrensburg, Mo., the seventh-seeded #15-ranked Concordia-St. Paul defeated sixth-seeded #12 Nebraska-Kearney (26-7) in five sets (25-18, 25-20, 19-25, 19-25, 15-12) at the 2021 NCAA Division II Central Region Volleyball Tournament semifinal.

In a rematch of the 2019 NCAA Central Region Championship, the Golden Bears got their revenge as they outlasted the Lopers in five sets after seeing their 2-0 lead in the match disappear. CSP led from start to finish in the fifth set as they secured their spot in the region title match.
 
Senior Tori Hanson was a force in the back row as she cleared 30 digs for the second time this season, finishing with a match-best 32 to go along with five assists. Redshirt freshman Emma Schmidt joined her in double figures with 13 digs while Schmidt matched Sophia Andersen for the team lead with 15 kills. Schmidt's double-double was her ninth of the season and second in a row as she also chipped in two aces and two blocks while hitting .382.
 
Along with Schmidt and Andersen, Katie Mattson and Jasmine Mulvihill gave the Golden Bears in double figures in kills. Mattson hit .381 with 11 kills and a career-best seven blocks while Mulvihill finished with 10 kills, nine digs and four blocks. Both setters finished with 25 assists on the night as Ellie Veldman finished with 25 assists and five blocks while Teagan Starkey added 25 assists and three digs.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Golden Bears have made it into the NCAA Tournament field in all 19 seasons under head coach Brady Starkey and have won 11 Central Region titles during that span. CSP has gone 73-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has collected a record nine NCAA Division II National Championships, including a 43-match winning streak that was snapped in the 2014 Central Region semifinals by Southwest Minnesota State.

The Golden Bears are 16-0 in regional quarterfinals, with two byes, and have won their first match all 18 years under Starkey. Concordia has reached the NCAA Region Championship (Sweet Sixteen) every season with the exception of 2014. CSP will be making their first ever trip to Wayne, Neb. for tournament play.

LAST TIME OUT
Over the weekend, Concordia reached the NSIC Tournament Championship with wins over NSU and UMD before falling in five sets to SCSU.

In the title match, the Golden Bears saw the Huskies run out to a 2-0 lead in the match before clawing their way back to force a decisive fifth set. The two teams slugged it out in the final set with eight ties and four lead changes as Concordia led as late as 13-12 before SCSU secured the automatic bid with three straight points to win the set 15-13.
 
CSP saw their bid for a seventh NSIC Tournament crown fall short as they dropped to 6-4 in 10 trips to the title match and 28-8 overall in the conference tourney. The Golden Bears also dropped to 31-3 in the all-time series with the Huskies as SCSU picked up their first win in 14 trips to St. Paul.
 
Teagan Starkey assisted on 64 of the team's 74 kills, putting up her second highest assist total on the year. She added nine digs and five blocks in a full stat line. Both Jasmine Mulvihill and Emma Schmidt had identical lines of 17 kills and 15 digs while Mulvihill had four blocks and Schmidt had two aces. Starkey and Mattson both took home NSIC All-Tournament Team honors with their efforts in the tourney.

IN THE POLLS
Following a 2-1 weekend, the Golden Bears remained at #3 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. Concordia has been a mainstay near the top of the poll for over a decade as they did not outside the top-10 for a single week from 2003 to 2021. The Golden Bears have spent an incredible 83 weeks at #1 since they debuted there in the 2004 preseason poll. Since the 2007 season, CSP has ranked #1 at least once in every season except 2019.

ALL-NSIC PICKS
Two weeks ago, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) released the 2022 Volleyball All-NSIC Teams and the Concordia-St. Paul had Katie Mattson, Jasmine Mulvihill, Emma Schmidt and Teagan Starkey named to the First Team as well as Sophia Andersen and Kennedy Brady named to the Second Team.

The Golden Bears matched their program record set back in 2008 with six All-NSIC picks. CSP also extended their streak to 20 consecutive seasons with at least four all-conference picks as they have reached that mark every season since 2001.

STAT LEADERS
So far this season, the Golden Bears rank near the top of the nation in several statistical categories.

Teagan Starkey's 12.72 assists per set rank first in the country as she, along with Halle Bemmels, has guided the offense to a nation-leading .305 hitting percentage and a second-best 14.71 kills per set through 31 matches. Jasmine Mulvihill has been the top option in the high-powered attack as her 3.95 kills per set rank 25th in the nation and first in the NSIC while her 4.73 points per set rank 14th and first, respectively.

Kennedy Brady has been one of the most efficient hitters in the conference this year as her .382 hitting percentage ranks 21st in the country and third in the league while Katie Mattson isn't far behind at .373, good for 29th in the nation and fifth in the conference. Mattson also ranks 10th in the league with 0.95 blocks per set while Brady ranks 12th with 0.94. CSP has two of the top-10 in aces per set in the league with Mulvihill at sixth with 0.39 per set while Emma Schmidt at seventh with 0.38 per set. Ellie Sieling also ranks 11th in digs per set at 3.34.

CLIMBING THE RANKS
After surpassing 1,000 career kills in the opening weekend of the season, Jasmine Mulvihill has continues to climb the ranks at CSP. Her 1,389 career kills are ninth in program history as she is 40 behind Marla Garbers in eighth and 67 behind Tia Lindberg in seventh. Mulvihill's 3.96 career kills per set are 0.21 ahead of Jill Kalvik in second place while her 3.95 kills per set on the season are 11th-best at Concordia.

CHASING 600
This past weekend, Concordia-St. Paul head coach Brady Starkey collected his 600th career win in the semifinal victory over Minnesota Duluth. In his 20 seasons at the helm, Starkey has compiled a record of 600-80, including a mark of 331-29 in NSIC play. His .883 career winning percentage is best all-time in all divisions among coaches with at least 10 years experience.