ST. PAUL, Minn. - The #2 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (17-1, 8-1 NSIC) will look to finish off their four-match homestand strong against #7 Southwest Minnesota State (14-2, 7-1 NSIC) on Thursday night at 6 p.m. at Gangelhoff Center.

SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and Mustangs head into the matchup with an extensive history as Concordia has met SMSU more times than any other program on the volleyball court. In the previous 69 meetings, CSP holds an edge of 41-27-1 over Southwest Minnesota State with a 28-10 advantage in NSIC play. Concordia holds a record of 21-12 in 33 meetings in St. Paul.

LAST MEETING VS SMSU
Back on Oct. 28, 2022, CSP survived a late surge at Southwest Minnesota State to claim a five-set win (28-26, 25-12, 19-25, 16-25, 15-12) for their 16th consecutive victory.

The Golden Bears stormed out to a 2-0 lead with wins in each of the first two sets before SMSU battled back to even it up and force a fifth set. CSP rebounded from there as they maintained a slim lead throughout the closing set to keep their longest winning streak since taking the final 19 matches of the 2016 season alive.

Teagan Starkey cleared 50 assists for the third time in five matches and seventh time of the year as she finished with 50 assists, nine digs, a career-best six blocks and two kills in the win. She spread the ball around evenly with four players in double figures in kills, led by 13 apiece for Emma Schmidt, Jasmine Mulvihill and Kennedy Brady. Schmidt hit .423 while adding 10 digs and Mulvihill chipped in 10 digs and three blocks as they both tallied double-doubles. Brady led the way with a season-best seven blocks on the night. Mattson added 10 digs and six blocks in the win.
 
Joining Schmidt and Mulvihill in double figures in digs were Ellie Sieling and Payton Stier. Sieling tied a match-best with 13 while Stier finished with 10 and a pair of assists.

LAST TIME OUT
Last week, Concordia claimed three wins at home to extend their winning streak to eight in a row overall.

On Tuesday, CSP took down Sioux Falls in four sets at Gangelhoff Center. Emma Schmidt led the Golden Bears with her third consecutive and seventh double-double of the season. The Maple Grove native finished with 14 kills, 19 digs and a pair of block assists on the evening. Jasmine Mulvihill added her seventh double-double of the season as well with 10 kills and 12 digs, while Sophia Andersen finished with a match leading 20 kills and Katie Mattson added 13 of her own. Teagan Starkey proved 57 assists in the contest, bringing her season assist total to 710. The junior setter also added three aces and a pair of block assists.
 
On Friday, CSP took all three sets against the Marauders of the University of Mary. Jasmine Mulvihill led the offensive attack with her eight double-double of the season. The senior led all scorers with 12 kills and added 12 digs. Teagan Starkey helped contribute with 48 assists in the match. Emma Schmidt notched her fourth consecutive double-double for the Navy and Gold. The junior finished with 10 kills and 14 digs. Joining Schmidt with double-figure kills was Sophia Andersen, who tallied 11 kills and a pair of digs on the night.
 
In Saturday's win, the Golden Bears cruised to a sweep of Minot State. Ellie Sieling was a do-it-all player for the Golden Bears. The sophomore started the match at libero before moving around the court for the final two sets. She finished tied with a match-leading seven kills, while adding nine digs and an assist. Senior Makenna Berger also shined for CSP with seven kills, three digs, an ace and an assist. Halle Bemmels finished with a match-leading 19 assists, adding three digs and a pair of aces for the Navy and Gold. Starkey made the start at setter for the Golden Bears and collected 11 assists in the one set she participated in.

IN THE POLLS
After three wins last week, CSP held their spot at #2 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. Concordia has been a mainstay near the top of the poll for nearly two decades as they have ranked outside the top-10 for just three weeks since 2003, never ranking below #15. The Golden Bears have ranked #1 at least once in 16 of the past 18 seasons, including week two of this year. In total, CSP has spent an incredible 84 weeks at the top team in the country since debuting there in the 2004 preseason poll.

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

Teagan Starkey's 13.32 assists per set rank first in the country as she has guided the offense to a nation-leading 15.39 kills per set and a second-best .299 hitting percentage through 18 matches. The Golden Bears also have two of the top seven in kills per set in the NSIC as Sophia Andersen ranks second (3.89) and Jasmine Mulvihill ranks seventh (3.56). Andersen and Mulvihill also rank fourth (4.16) and fifth (4.10), respectively, in points per set.

Jamie Guptill has paced the squad with a .352 hitting percentage, good for sixth in the league, while Emma Schmidt ranks 12th with 3.74 digs per set.

ALL-TIME RANKS
After surpassing 1,000 career kills in the opening weekend of the 2022 season, Jasmine Mulvihill has continued to climb the ranks at CSP. Her 1,682 career kills rank tied for second in program history as she is tied with Jill Kalvik in second and 216 behind Emily Palkert in first. Mulvihill's 3.88 career kills per set are 0.13 ahead of Jill Kalvik in second place while her 4.56 points per set are also 0.13 ahead of Kalvik. The senior also needs just 75 more digs to become the 21st member of the 1,000 dig club and sixth member of the 1,000/1,000 club.

Junior Emma Schmidt is also nearing the 1,000 dig club as her 914 career digs put her 86 shy of the mark. She also sits 191 away from the 1,000 kill club with 809 while junior Sophia Andersen has compiled 838 kills.