ST. PAUL, Minn. – The #12 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (8-4, 3-1 NSIC) will head west later this week, taking on Minot State (N.D.) (1-10, 0-4 NSIC) on Friday at 6 p.m. and UMary (N.D.) (2-10, 0-4 NSIC) on Saturday at 5 p.m. before travelling to South Dakota to faceoff with Sioux Falls (8-4, 3-1 NSIC) on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
Fans are encouraged to buy tickets in advance and bring your QR code to the gates to skip the line! Friends and families who utilize the pass list will also be utilizing the online ticketing service while all students, faculty & staff will access their free CSP tickets through the service. Fans do not need to create a login, remember a username or password or download an app to purchase tickets, and tickets can still be purchased with a credit card at the gate. Tickets for both matches as well as Comet's Carnival can be purchased here.

WATCH ONLINE – NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC volleyball games will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, and supported by BlueFrame Technology. Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Search "NSIC Network" and download the app for the league's full sport and team lineups. NSIC NETWORK FAQ

DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear athletics.

LAST TIME OUT
Concordia played its first home matches of the season last weekend, topping Winona State in four sets on Friday and sweeping Minnesota Crookston on Saturday. Libero Cassie Sieling was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts in Concordia's 2-1 week after averaging 5.90 digs per set and tallying a career-high 24 digs in the win over Winona State.

IN THE POLLS
The Golden Bears dropped three spots to #12 in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll after a 2-1 week. Concordia has been a mainstay near the top of the poll for nearly two decades as they have only ranked outside the top-10 for four weeks since 2003, never ranking below #15. Heading into the season, the Golden Bears have ranked #1 at least once in 15 of the past 18 seasons. In total, CSP has spent an incredible 83 weeks at the top team in the country since debuting there in the 2004 preseason poll.

MILESTONE WATCH
Entering the weekend, Ellie Sieling sits just 47 digs shy of the 1,000 career digs mark with 953 digs in her three seasons at CSP. She would be just the 23^rd member of the club all-time, joining teammate Emma Schmidt who reached the milestone earlier this season.

TEAM LEADERS
Senior Teagan Starkey remains one of the top setters in the nation this season, leading the NSIC and ranking second in all of Division II with an average of 12.34 assists per set. Her 580 total set assists also lead the conference and are fifth-most in Division II.

Middle blocker Claudia Stahlke has also been a national leader at her position, raking first in the NSIC and sixth in Division II with an average of 1.49 blocks per set. Her 70 total blocks are the most in the conference, and the third-most in all of Division II.

Stahlke has also been an important presence for the Golden Bear offense, leading the team with a .372 hitting percentage and ranking third with 110 total kills.

The reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Week, libero Cassie Sieling has anchored Concordia's back row all season, leading the team and ranking fifth in the conference with 197 total digs. Her average of 4.19 digs per set is ninth among the conference ranks.

Sophia Andersen has paced the Golden Bear offense to this point, leading the team with 121 kills (2.88 per set) on a .205 hitting percentage. Mehlayna Straub ranks second on the team with 120 kills (2.61 per set), also ranking third on the team with 26 total blocks.

Ellie Sieling has been an asset on both offense and defense for CSP, averaging 2.70 digs per set and 2.20 kills per set for CSP.

HISTORY AGAINST MINOT STATE
Concordia holds a perfect 14-0 record against the Beavers all-time, including winning all seven matchups in Minot. The Golden Bears have claimed 12 sweeps in the series, with the other two matches going four sets each. In the lone matchup last season, the Golden Bears swept the Beavers in October at the Gangelhoff Center.

ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Minot State holds an overall record of 1-10 through the first 11 matches of 2024, including a mark of 0-4 in NSIC play. The Beavers have faced off with #7 Southwest Minnesota State, Augustana, #8 Wayne State, and Sioux Falls in conference play, being swept on each occasion.

Middle blocker Bailee Brommenschenkel has led the Beavers on defense, ranking 11^th in the NSIC with an average of 0.94 blocks per set.

HISTORY AGAINST UMARY
CSP also holds a perfect record in the series with the Marauders, winning all 24 matchups, including all 12 in Bismarck, N.D. 21 of the 24 wins have been sweeps, with only one going to five sets. In their single meeting last year, Concordia won in straight sets at the Gangelhoff Center.

ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
The University of Mary volleyball team has posted an overall record of 2-10 so far this season, including a record of 0-4 in NSIC play. The Marauders have been swept in each of their conference contests this year, with losses to Augustana, Southwest Minnesota State, Sioux Falls, and Wayne State.  

Setter Maddy Freed has paced the Marauder attack, ranking seventh in the NSIC and 55^th in Division II with an average of 9.26 assists per set.

HISTORY AGAINST USF
Concordia holds a 14-3 mark all-time against the Cougars, including a 6-2 mark on the road. The Golden Bears claimed both meetings last season, winning in four sets at the Gangelhoff Center in October and sweeping the Cougars in the NSIC Tournament in November.

ABOUT THE COUGARS
Sioux Falls holds an overall record of 8-4 so far this season, going 3-1 in four conference matches. The Cougars opened NSIC play with a four-set loss to Northern State before claiming wins over Winona State, UMary, and Minot State.

The Cougar offense has been one of the top groups in the nation this season, ranking third in the NSIC and 13^th in all of NCAA Division II with a .273 hitting percentage. Individually, outside hitter Jordan Kuper ranks third in the conference and 29^th in Division II with a .388 hitting percentage.