ST. PAUL, Minn. – The second-seeded #8 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (21-5) will host seven-seeded Minnesota State (18-8) in the NSIC Tournament quarterfinals at the Gangelhoff Center on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
Concordia's win over MSU earlier this season improved CSP's all-time advantage over MSU to 36-3 and preserved the Bears' perfect 18-0 record at the Gangelhoff Center vs. the Mavericks. The Golden Bears have won the last 18 matchups in a streak that dates back to 2014. The last time CSP and MSU met in the NSIC Tournament was in the quarterfinals in 2016, with Concordia winning in straight sets.

LAST MEETING VS MSU
The Golden Bears and Mavericks last met on October 24, with Concordia winning in four sets at the Gangelhoff Center.

The Golden Bears won the opening set 25-22, but Minnesota State evened the match with a 25-17 win in set two. Concordia responded by winning set three 25-17 and taking set four 25-19 to win the match 3-1.

As a team, the Golden Bears hit .304 in the match with 67 kills while Minnesota State hit .286 with 48 kills. Concordia also held a 61-59 edge in digs, a 62-44 advantage in set assists, and an 8-5 edge in aces.

Sophia Andersen was outstanding for the Golden Bear offense, leading all players with a season-high 18 kills against just three errors for a .395 hitting percentage. Emma Schmidt was just behind her with 17 kills on a .300 hitting percentage, also adding 11 digs for the double-double.

Makenna Nold and Mehlayna Straub also hit double figures on offense, logging 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Nold was also active on defense, adding five block assists.

Teagan Starkey notched her eighth double-double of the season, tallying 55 set assists and 11 digs while adding a pair of block assists.

Libero Cassie Sieling led the way on defense for Concordia with 19 digs. Claudia Stahlke led all players in the match with six block assists, also contributing six kills and a dig.

NSIC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Entering this year, Concordia has gone 31-8 overall in the conference tournament in 15 previous trips. In those previous trips, CSP has reached the title match 11 times and has won seven titles (2004, 2005, 2006, 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2023). The Golden Bears have gone 13-2 in opening round matches as they have advanced to at least the semifinals in all but two seasons.
 
Last season, Concordia swept Winona State in the opening round, defeated Minnesota Duluth in five sets in the semifinals, and swept St. Cloud State in the Championship to secure the seventh NSIC Tournament title in program history.

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, CSP closed out the regular season with sweeps of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State.

On Friday, Concordia opened the match with a 25-20 win and carried that momentum with a 25-17 win in set two and a 25-16 decision in set three to complete the sweep. The win improved CSP's all-time record vs. Bemidji State to 39-2, with the Golden Bears winning the last 37 matchups in a streak that dates back to 2001.

The Golden Bears finished the match with 45 kills on .292 hitting as a unit while Bemidji had just 25 kills on .089 hitting. Concordia dominated nearly every statistical category, holding a 6-3 edge in aces, a 7-4 edge in blocks, and a 49-37 advantage in digs.

On Saturday, the Golden Bears were in control throughout the entirety of the match, winning set one 25-16, taking set two 25-18, and completing the sweep with a 25-14 win in set three. The win moved CSP's all-time advantage over UMC to 39-0, including a 17-0 mark in road matchups in Crookston, Minn.

As a unit, Concordia hit .318 with 48 kills while Minnesota Crookston hit just .078 with 23 kills. CSP also held a 7-2 advantage in service aces, a 5-1 edge in blocks, and a 63-44 advantage in digs.
Teagan Starkey was named NSIC Setter of the Week for her efforts in the wins after leading the conference with an average of 12.83 assists per set.

IN THE POLLS
For the third week in a row, Concordia remained at #8 in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll.

Concordia has been a mainstay near the top of the poll for nearly two decades as they have ranked outside the top-10 for just seven weeks since 2003, never ranking below #15. The Golden Bears have ranked #1 at least once in 16 of the past 19 seasons. In total, CSP has spent an incredible 84 weeks at the top team in the country since debuting there in the 2004 preseason poll.

ALL-NSIC PICKS
Last Wednesday, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference released the 2024 Volleyball All-Conference Teams and Concordia-St. Paul's Makenna Nold was named Freshman of the Year while Sophia Andersen, Teagan Starkey, Emma Schmidt, and Nold were named to the First Team while Cassie Sieling and Claudia Stahlke were named to the Second Team.

For the third year in a row, the Golden Bears matched their program record set back in 2008 with six All-NSIC picks. CSP also extended their streak to 22 consecutive seasons with at least four all-conference picks as they have reached that mark every season since 2001.

STAT LEADERS
The reigning NSIC Setter of the Week, senior Teagan Starkey continues to be a national leader at her position, leading the NSIC and all of NCAA Division II with an average of 12.56 assists per set this season.

Sophia Andersen has been Concordia's top offensive threat, leading the team with 304 kills (3.23 per set). Her hitting percentage of .233 ranks fifth on the team among those with at least 100 attacks.

Makenna Nold leads the team and ranks seventh in the conference with 3.55 points per set this season. Her 251 kills are tied for third on the team while her 83.0 total blocks also rank second on the roster.

Emma Schmidt has also contributed on both offense and defense, ranking fourth on the team with 240 kills and third with 254 digs.

Claudia Stahlke also ranks highly on the Division II leaderboard, leading the conference and sitting sixth in the country with 134 total blocks. Her average of 1.35 blocks per set also leads the NSIC and is 12^th in Division II. Stahlke has also contributed on offense, ranking fifth on the team with 210 kills this season. Her .348 hitting percentage leads the team among those with at least 100 attacks.

Libero Cassie Sieling  leads the team and ranks seventh in the conference with 430 digs on the year while her average of 4.34 digs per set ranks eighth in the NSIC.

Mehlayna Straub ranks second on the team with 256 kills this season (2.61 per set) on a .283 hitting percentage. The sophomore has also made an impact for the Golden Bear defense, ranking third on the team with 59.0 total blocks.

Ellie Sieling has been an effective two-way player for the Bears, ranking second on the team with 262 digs (2.65 per set) and adding 130 kills (1.31 per set).