WINONA, Minn. – The No. 10 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (15-4, 11-1 NSIC) won its fourth straight match on Tuesday evening, defeating Winona State (10-10, 5-7 NSIC) in straight sets by scores of 25-12, 25-14, and 25-17 at McCown Gymnasium.
The win improved Concordia's all-time record against Winona State to 41-11 and extended CSP's active winning streak against the Warriors to seven matches, including a four-set victory in September earlier this season.
The Golden Bears controlled the match from start to finish, never trailing at any point in the contest. Concordia hit .291 as a team, recording 43 kills with just 13 errors on 103 total attacks, while holding Winona State to a .024 hitting percentage with 20 kills and 18 errors on 85 swings. The Bears also dominated from the service line with eight aces compared to just one ace for the Warriors.
The Warriors kept pace with the Golden Bears through the midpoint of the opening set as they trailed by just three points at 15-12, but Concordia found a spark on the serve of
Ellie Sieling as the Bears rattled off 10 straight points to win the set 25-12.
With Concordia holding another narrow advantage at 10-7 early in the second set, the Golden Bears claimed five of the next six points to carve out a 15-8 advantage. The Warriors never managed to get the deficit below six from that point on as Concordia cruised to another comfortable set win by a score of 25-14.
The Golden Bears opened the third set hot as they won six of the first seven points, but Winona State put together a four-point run of their own shortly after to cut Concordia's lead to two at 9-7. The set remained in reach for the Warriors as CSP held a 15-12 lead shortly after, but the Golden Bears made yet another late push with a 7-0 surge on the serve of
Natalee Rolbiecki to go up by 10 on the way to a 25-17 win to secure the sweep.
Sophomore outside hitter
Makenna Nold led the attack once again with 12 kills while hitting .286, adding seven digs and two blocks for a match-high 13 points. Sophomore
Kelsey Cooper delivered an all-around performance with seven kills on .412 hitting, three service aces, two block assists, and a dig for 11 points. Freshman
Kaelyn Snoozy added 10 kills on .292 hitting with a solo block, while
Ellie Sieling contributed seven kills, 10 digs, three aces, and an assist.
Setter
Audrey Waterman directed the offense with 21 assists and a kill, while
Reagan Hickey added 15 assists and six digs. Libero
Cassie Sieling anchored the back row with a team-high 11 digs and chipped in two assists and an ace.
Winona State was led by Kenna Kornely and Abby Ongna, who each registered five kills. Libero Anna Hennessy collected a match-high 16 digs, and setter Ashlyn Steding recorded nine assists and two blocks.
The Golden Bears will now return home to host Umary and Minot State on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon at the Gangelhoff Center.