WAYNE, Neb. – The fourth-ranked and second-seeded Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (28-2) claimed their seventh NSIC Tournament Championship with a sweep of eighth-ranked and fourth-seeded St. Cloud State (22-8) on Sunday afternoon at Rice Auditorium.
 
Concordia, who earned the NSIC's automatic bid with the win, will now see where they land in the NCAA Central Region Tournament set to be played in two weeks. The NCAA Volleyball selection show will be streamed online on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. (CT) on NCAA.com.
 
The Golden Bears improved their record to 31-8 in 15 trips to the NSIC Tournament and 7-4 in 11 appearances in the title match as they picked up their first tournament crown since 2019. CSP also improved to 34-4 all-time against the Huskies and 2-1 in NSIC Tournament Championship meetings.
 
Concordia once again put up a formidable block as they cleared double figures in blocks for the eighth time on the season and third consecutive match in the tournament. Their total of 13.0 blocks were their second most in a three-set match this season and tied for 13^th most in school history. CSP used their 13.0-2.0 edge in blocks to register a .340-.183 edge in hitting percentage in the match. The Golden Bears also outpaced the Huskies 46-38 in kills and 6-4 in aces.
 
CSP's two middles led the way in the blocking effort as Katie Mattson collected seven blocks and Jamie Guptill put up six. It was Mattson's fourth match in a row with at least five blocks and third with six or more while Guptill made it back-to-back matches with at least six. Mattson matched Emma Schmidt for the team lead with 11 kills as she hit .529 while Guptill tallied nine kills and a .571 hitting percentage.
 
Schmidt put up her 13^th double-double of the season as she added a match-high 11 digs to her 11 kills as well as two aces on the afternoon. Jasmine Mulvihill followed with nine kills, four digs and a pair of blocks. Teagan Starkey finished with 39 assists, four blocks and three digs in the win.
 
Kenzie Foley led SCSU with 17 kills and six digs in the loss.
 
Concordia's Teagan Starkey, Jasmine Mulvihill, Katie Mattson and Emma Schmidt as well as St. Cloud State's Kenzie Foley and Hannah Bruskiewicz were named to the NSIC All-Tournament Team.
 
After holding a slim lead throughout the early portion of the first set, the Huskies strung together five straight points and eight of 10 to grow their lead to 19-11. CSP would not go away, however, as they scored the next four in a row before compiling an even more significant 8-0 run a few points later to turn a 22-16 deficit into a 24-22 lead to force set point. SCSU rebounded to erase two set points in a row, but back-to-back Concordia kills sealed a 26-24 win.
 
CSP grabbed an early 4-2 lead in the second, but St. Cloud State quickly turned the tide with five in a row and 10 of 12 to take a 12-6 lead. For the second set in a row, the Golden Bears flipped the script in their favor, this time with an extended 13-4 burst, to build a 20-17 lead of their own. SCSU battled back to tie it up at 20-20, but Concordia claimed five of the final six points of the set to win it 25-21.
 
The Golden Bears took control early in set three as they jumped out to an 8-4 lead and they would not trail the rest of the way. The lead eventually grew to double figures at 21-11 following an 8-1 run before Concordia cruised to the sweep with a 25-18 set win.