SST. CLOUD, Minn. – The #2 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (18-2, 9-2 NSIC) saw their nine-match winning streak snapped on Friday night as they fell in four sets (21-25, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25) at #13 St. Cloud State (15-5, 8-3 NSIC) at Halenbeck Hall.
The Huskies picked up just their fourth win in 37 meetings between the two schools as CSP dropped to 13-3 in 16 meetings in St. Cloud.
Serving played a major role in the outcome of the match as St. Cloud State tallied 11 service aces with just two service errors while Concordia managed six aces with nine errors from the serving line. The Golden Bears led in several other categories on the night, holding a 54-51 edge in kills and an 8.0-7.0 edge in blocks while hitting .217 compared to .228 for SCSU.
Three different CSP hitters registered double figures in kills, led by 14 from
Sophia Andersen and 13 from
Emma Schmidt. Andersen added five digs while Schmidt chipped in four blocks and four digs.
Jasmine Mulvihill picked up a double-double with 11 kills and a team-best 14 digs to go along with three blocks.
Teagan Starkey finished with 47 assists and six digs while
Ellie Sieling put up 11 digs, two aces and two assists in the loss.
Kenzie Foley was the focal point of the St. Cloud State offense with a match-best 22 kills and a .326 hitting percentage while she added 10 digs for the double-double in the win.
The opening set could not have been much closer in the early going with eight ties and five lead changes over the first 29 points, but the Huskies took control from there. With CSP leading 14-13, SCSU scored seven straight as they took the lead for good. The Golden Bears answered with four of the next five to trim the gap to three, but that would be all the closer they would get as the Huskies took the set 25-21.
It was more of the same in the second as the set featured 12 ties and six lead changes throughout with neither team leading by more than two until the final few points. With SCSU leading 20-19, the Golden Bears scored the next two points as a part of a 5-1 run to force set point at 24-21. St. Cloud State managed to survive the first two set points but couldn't survive a third as a Mulvihill kill ended it at 25-23 and tied the match at 1-1.
The two teams jostled for the lead in the early going of the third set, but the Huskies grabbed the lead near the midpoint of the set and didn't relinquish it. The Golden Bears remained within striking distance until the finish, but St. Cloud State held off Concordia to win it 25-20.
The fourth set followed nearly the same script as the two teams went back in forth for much of the set until a late surge for the Huskies secured a 25-18 set win and a 3-1 win in the match.
The Golden Bears will have another top-15 road matchup tomorrow afternoon as they travel to #10 Minnesota Duluth for a 2 p.m. start.
