ST. PAUL, Minn. - No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball (15-1, 6-1 NSIC) kicked off the three match homestand with a 3-1 victory over the Sioux Falls Cougars (6-8, 2-4 NSIC) on Tuesday night at the Gangelhoff Center.
 
The Golden Bears will return to action this Friday to face the University of Mary Marauders at 6 p.m. from the Gangelhoff Center. CSP will host Minot State the following day on Homecoming at 5 p.m.
 
Concordia volleyball improved to 13-3 over the Cougars with set scores of 25-22, 25-27, 25-18 and 25-14. Overall, CSP outscored USF 85-60 with 14 more kills and eight more total blocks. In addition, the Golden Bears finished with a team hitting % of .331, while the Cougars finished with a hitting percentage of .237.
 
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 why she leads the nation with 13.15 assists per set after she earned 57 in tonight's contest, bringing her season assist total to 710. The junior setter also added three aces and a pair of block assists.
 
In the opening set, Mulvihill and Mattson set the tone with a great block to open the match. Neither team was able to pull away in the set as there were six lead changes and 13 ties during the back-and-forth affair. However, the Golden Bears were able to go on a 4-0 run that was sparked by a kill from Andersen and finished off by a block from Andersen and Mattson to claim the set, 25-22.
 
The second set was much like the first as there were 13 ties and six lead changes, but this set would go in favor of Sioux Falls. With the set win in reach, an initial kill from Andersen was overturned following a successful challenge by the Cougars. From there, USF took over the momentum and scored the final three points to take the set, 27-25.
 
CSP bounced back in the third with a dominant 25-18 set victory and led by as many as seven points throughout the set. Jamie Guptill shined for the Golden Bears and helped spark the offensive attack with four kills. As a team, CSP finished the set with a hitting % of .375 and 16 total kills.
 
In the fourth and final set, the Golden Bears never trailed and led by a match-best 10 points as they coasted to their sixth consecutive victory. Andersen led the Golden Bears in the fourth set with five kills, while Schmidt added four kills and five digs to secure a double-double. As a team, Concordia hit the ball well in the final set with an efficient hitting % of .640, along with an 86% successful attack rate.