ST. PAUL, Minn. – The top-seeded and second-ranked Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (30-2) defeated fourth-seeded and 16
th-ranked Central Missouri (25-8) in four sets (30-28, 25-20, 20-25, 25-15) in the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament semifinal on Friday night at Gangelhoff Center.
The Golden Bears advanced to the region title match for the eighth consecutive season and 19
th time in 20 seasons under head coach
Brady Starkey as they picked up their 80
th NCAA Tournament win in 90 matches. CSP will look to claim their 13
th region crown tomorrow night as they take on second-seeded and third-ranked Wayne State at 7 p.m. at Gangelhoff Center.
Concordia and Wayne State have met twice so far this season with CSP claiming a five-set win in the Colorado Premier Challenge championship match on Sept. 9, 2023 before WSC picked up a sweep on their home court in the NSIC opener six days later on Sept. 15. Overall, the Golden Bears hold a 36-18 record against the Wildcats, including a 19-10 mark in St. Paul.
While CSP came into the match firing on all cylinders offensively, they found another way to win with a scrappy defensive performance to extend their winning streak to 12. The Golden Bears held a strong UCM offense to .134 hitting, limiting the guests to 44 kills and forcing 22 errors on 164 swings. CSP compiled a season-best 84 digs while they also tallied 12.0 blocks on the night, putting them in double figures for the ninth time on the season and fifth time in seven matches. Concordia finished the night with 65 kills and a .215 hitting percentage as well.
The duo of
Emma Schmidt and
Ellie Sieling combined for 50 of the team's 84 digs as both registered career-bests with 25 digs apiece. Schmidt added 14 kills and three blocks to collect the double-double while moving within 34 kills of 1,000 in her career.
Cassie Sieling added 10 digs in the win.
Katie Mattson put up yet another stellar effort as she led all players with 19 kills and eight blocks in the victory. It was her eighth match in a row over .500 hitting and her sixth in a row with at least five blocks.
Sophia Andersen and
Jasmine Mulvihill gave Concordia four players in double figures in kills as Andersen had 16 kills, five digs and two aces while Mulvihill had 12 kills, nine digs and four blocks.
Teagan Starkey finished filled the box score with 61 assists to go along with seven digs and three blocks on the night. It was her fourth 60+ assist performance on the season and third in a four-set match.
Rachel Ziesman paced Central Missouri with 13 kills and eight blocks while Grace Winkelmann led the Jennies with 19 digs in the loss.
Concordia raced out to an early 5-1 lead before extending it to six at 9-3. Following a pair of points for the Jennies, the Golden Bears went right back on the attack as they scored the next seven in a row and nine of 10 to balloon their lead to a dozen at 18-6. With the lead still at 12 at 20-8, Central Missouri came storming back with a 10-1 burst to close the gap to 23-18. A kill for Schmidt forced set point, but UCM would not go away as they scored seven in a row to take a 25-24 lead of their own, extending the run to 17-4 overall. From there, it went back and forth as CSP scored the next two to force their seventh set point before the Jennies took two straight point to force their second. They forced one more two points later at 28-27 before a kill, an ace and a block gave the Golden Bears a dramatic 30-28 first set win.
It continued to be a game of runs early in the second as CSP scored the first three points before a 3-0 run in favor of the Jennies a couple points later tied it up at 4-4. The trend continued with three more points for Concordia followed by three for Central Missouri to tie it back up at 7-7. UCM tied it up for a third time at 11-11, but that proved to be the final tie of the set as the Golden Bears scored three of the next four points before rattling off four in a row shortly after to give themselves some breathing room at 19-14. The Jennies managed to trim it back to three at 21-18, but that would be all the closer they would get as Concordia won the set 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
After the Golden Bears took a quick 3-1 lead in set three, Central Missouri took control with a pair of 4-0 runs to build a 10-5 advantage of their own. Two points later, CSP battled back as they scored seven of nine to erase the deficit and tie it up at 13-13. UCM regained the lead with back-to-back points before a 3-0 run temporarily put Concordia back in front at 16-15. That proved to be their final lead as the Jennies used a 6-1 run to take the lead for good, going on to force a fourth set with a 25-20 win in the third.
It was Central Missouri that led for much of the early portion of the fourth set as they held an 8-6 lead before the Golden Bears turned the tide. CSP claimed the next three points in a row and five of the next six as they would not trail again the rest of the way. With UCM still within a point at 13-12, Concordia created some breathing room with a 5-1 run to extend their lead to five at 18-13. After the Jennies took two of the next three points, the Golden Bears finished the job with a dominant 6-0 run to win the set 25-15 and the match 3-1.
