ST. PAUL, Minn. – The #8 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (18-4, 13-1 NSIC) is set to host its final pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference home matches of the season at the Gangelhoff Center this weekend, taking on Minnesota Duluth on Friday and hosting #2 St. Cloud State on Saturday.

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.

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 hosted a pair of conference matches last week, topping Augustana in five sets on Thursday and taking down #11 Wayne State in four sets on Saturday. Setter Teagan Starkey was named the NSIC Setter of the Week for the fifth time this season for her efforts in the wins, leading the NSIC with an average of 14.00 assists per set.

IN THE POLLS
The Golden Bears moved up one spot to #8 in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll after another 2-0 week with wins over Augustana and #11 Wayne State. St. Cloud State also moved up one spot, reaching #2 after another perfect week of conference play.

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 seven 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.

TEAM LEADERS
Setter Teagan Starkey was named the NSIC Setter of the Week for her efforts in CSP's two wins last week. The senior led the conference with an average of 14.00 assists across the two contests, including a 65-assist, seven-dig match in the win over #11 Wayne State. For the season, Starkey leads all of NCAA Division II with an average of 12.74 assists per set and ranks second in the nation with 1,083 total assists.

Libero Cassie Sieling had the strongest outing of her career in Saturdays win over the Wildcats, tallying a career-high 32 digs and adding five set assists and two service aces. The junior now ranks sixth in the conference with 376 total digs this season.

Middle blocker Claudia Stahlke also ranks highly in Division II among those at her position, leading the conference and sitting 11th in the country with 113 total blocks. Her average of 1.33 blocks per set also leads the NSIC and is 16^th in Division II. Stahlke has also contributed on offense, ranking fifth in the team with 185 kills this season. Her .365 hitting percentage leads the team among those with at least 100 attacks.

Makenna Nold continued her strong first-year campaign last week, leading the NSIC with an average of 4.94 points per set in CSP's two wins. She finished with a match-high 18 kills on .350 hitting in the win over #11 Wayne State. The freshman ranks fifth in the NSIC with an average of 3.65 points per set for the season. Nold has also contributed on defense, ranking second on the team with 66.0 total blocks.

Sophia Andersen has been Concordia's top offensive threat, leading the team with 263 kills (3.29 per set). Her hitting percentage of .244 ranks fourth on the team among those with at least 100 attacks.

Mehlayna Straub ranks third on the team with 216 kills this season (2.57 per set) on a .271 hitting percentage. The sophomore has also made an impact for the Golden Bear defense, ranking third on the team with 42.0 total blocks.

Ellie Sieling has been an effective two-way player for the Bears, ranking second on the team with 221 digs (2.60 per set) and adding 130 kills (1.53 per set). Emma Schmidt has also contributed on both offense and defense, ranking fourth on the team with 189 kills and third with 207 digs.

HISTORY AGAINST MINNESOTA DULUTH
The Golden Bears hold a 35-25 all-time record against Minnesota Duluth, including a mark of 16-13 at the Gangelhoff Center. The two teams met earlier this season in September, with the Golden Bears claiming a five-set win behind 17 kills from Mehlyana Straub and a 15-kill, 11-dig double-double from Claudia Stahlke.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs hold an overall record of 14-9 so far this season with a 7-8 mark in conference play. UMD spent most of the season in the AVCA Coaches Poll top 25, dropping out of the poll on October 28.

UMD's Kaylyn Madison has proven to be one of the top servers in the conference this season, leading the NSIC with 35 total service aces. Offensively, the Bulldogs rank fourth in the conference in both kills per set (13.59) and assists per set (12.72).

HISTORY AGAINST ST. CLOUD STATE
In the 38-match series against the Huskies, the Golden Bears hold a 34-4 all-time advantage and a 14-1 record at the Gangelhoff Center. When the two teams met earlier this season in September, St. Cloud State won in straight sets. The Golden Bears have never lost consecutive matches to St. Cloud State, winning seven of the last 10 matchups.

ABOUT THE HUSKIES
The Huskies enter the week with an overall record of 21-2 and a perfect 15-0 mark in NSIC play. Ranked 2^nd in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll, the Huskies two losses both came early in the season with a three-set loss in the season opener against #21 Cal Poly Pomona and a five-set decision against Northern Michigan in September.

The St. Cloud State offense has been one of the most efficient in the nation this season, leading the conference and ranking fifth in all of Division II with a .289 hitting percentage. St. Cloud's 15.04 kills per set also lead the NSIC and rank third in Division II.