ST. PAUL, Minn. – The second-seeded #8 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (22-5) hosted seventh-seeded Minnesota State (18-9) in the NSIC Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday evening, topping the Mavericks in four sets to advance to the semifinals in St. Cloud, Minn. this weekend.

The Mavericks secured a 25-23 come-from-behind victory in the opening set, but the Golden Bears responded with a 25-18 win in set two to even the match. Concordia went on to secure a 26-24 win in set three and a 25-17 win in set four to win the match 3-1.

With the win, Concordia now holds a 37-3 all-time record against Minnesota State, including a perfect mark of 19-0 at the Gangelhoff Center. This was the fourth NSIC Tournament meeting between the teams (2014, 2015, 2016, 2024), with CSP winning all four matchups.

For the match, CSP outhit MSU .258 to .148 and held a 59-43 advantage in kills. Concordia also held edges in several other categories, including blocks (11-5), aces (12-9), assists (56-42), and digs (76-70).

Senior Emma Schmidt logged her fourth consecutive double-double in the win, finishing with 19 kills on .356 hitting to go along with 11 digs, three block assists, and three service aces.

Middle blocker Claudia Stahlke also reached double figures on offense, tallying 12 kills on .440 hitting and adding a match-high eight total blocks.

Sophia Andersen and Makenna Nold added nine kills and three total blocks each for Concordia while Mehlayna Straub contributed seven kills and two blocks.

Libero Cassie Sieling had a strong outing for CSP's back row, finishing with 27 digs, the second-highest output of her career. Ellie Sieling and Natalee Rolbiecki also finished in double figures on defense with 14 and 10 digs, respectively.

Setter Teagan Starkey finished the match with 53 set assists and seven digs.

The Golden Bears worked out to a 19-13 lead in the opening set, but the Mavericks put together a six-point run from that point to tie the set at 19-19. Tied at 23-23 later in the set, the Mavericks finished strong with a kill and a service ace to take the set 25-23 and go up 1-0 in the match. Stats were relatively even in the set, with each team recording 15 kills and two blocks and Concordia finishing with a 4-3 edge in service aces. The Mavericks outhit the Bears .342 to .237 in the frame.

Concordia took a commanding lead again early in set two, leading 14-7 and maintaining control for the duration of the set on the way to a 25-18 win to even the match. Concordia held a 14-8 advantage in digs and a 4-1 edge in service aces in the set, outhitting MSU .256 to .148.

The Golden Bears looked to be on the ropes in set three as they trailed 23-20 late, but Concordia rallied to win six of the final seven points to take the set 26-24 and go up 2-1 in the match. Each team logged 16 kills on 43 attempts in the set, but CSP had just three errors to MSU's six to outhit the Mavericks .302 to .233.

Concordia was in control throughout set four, jumping out to a 15-7 lead on the way to a 25-17 win to claim victory in four sets.

With the win, Concordia will advance to the NSIC Tournament semifinals in St. Cloud, Minn., facing third-seeded #15 Wayne State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.