ST. PAUL, Minn. – The No. 9 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (17-4, 13-1 NSIC) will head west this weekend for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matches at No. 22 Northern State (17-5, 9-5) on Friday and Jamestown (9-12, 4-10 NSIC) on Saturday.
 
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.

WATCH ONLINE - NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC volleyball matches will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, 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

BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
Fans are highly encouraged to purchase tickets online at cspbears.com/tickets prior to game day. All ticketed events for the 25-26 academic year will utilize the Vivenu online ticket platform found at that link, and fans must scan a mobile ticket to enter. Tickets will still be sold on site on game day, but purchases are card-only and include additional fees. The best way for fans to make their game day entry as smooth as possible is to purchase tickets online in advance. CSP students, faculty, and staff will be able to download and transfer their free passes through Vivenu.

IN THE POLLS
Following a 3-0 week that saw CSP sweep Winona State, UMary, and Minot State, the Golden Bears moved up to No. 9 in the ninth American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II Poll of the season.

The Golden Bears collected 803 points in the poll, coming in 52 points ahead of No. 10 Lynn and just 10 points behind No. 8 Simon Fraser.  The University of Tampa remained in the top spot with 1,175 points and all 47 first-place votes as the Spartans hold a perfect 19-0 record.

CSP is one of seven Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference representatives in the poll with Wayne State (6), St. Cloud State (11), Southwest Minnesota State (18), Minnesota Duluth (21), Northern State (22), and Minnesota State (24) each remaining in the top 25.

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 12 weeks since 2003, never ranking below #15. The Golden Bears have ranked #1 at least once in 16 of the past 20 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.

BACK-TO-BACK: SIELING SECURES ANOTHER CONFERENCE AWARD
Senior libero Cassie Sieling took home another weekly conference honor last week as she claimed NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week. Sieling averaged 5.22 digs per set while leading the conference with 0.89 aces per set throughout the week.

LAST TIME OUT
Last week, the Golden Bears posted a record of 3-0 with sweeps of Winona State, Umary, and Minot State.

Senior Cassie Sieling earned a second straight NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honor for her efforts in the wins, as she tallied 11 digs against Winona State, 21 digs against UMary, and 15 digs against Minot State.

Sophomore Makenna Nold led Concordia's offense once again, leading the conference with 4.78 kills per set, including 12 against Winona State, 14 against UMary, and 17 against Minot State.

Freshman Kaelyn Snoozy reached double figures on offense in two of the three matches, recording 12 kills against Winona State, 12 against Minot State, and seven against UMary.

STAT SHEET STANDOUTS
Makenna Nold remains atop the conference leaderboard in both kills per set (4.35) and points per set (5.32) with both marks ranking in the top 11 in all of Division II. The sophomore also sits third in the league in aces per set (0.48).  

Sophomore transfer Kelsey Cooper has been CSP's most efficient attacker, leading the team and ranking sixth in the conference with a .358 hitting percentage while tallying 135 kills on the season. Cooper also ranks seventh in the conference with 0.93 blocks per set this season.

Defensively, senior libero Cassie Sieling leads the team with 3.79 digs per set, ninth most in the NSIC. The senior reached a massive career milestone last week, recording 18 digs against St. Cloud State and adding 15 against Minnesota State to put her over 1,000 for her career, becoming the 24^th Golden Bear to do so.

Senior Ellie Sieling has been a key two-way player for the Golden Bears, ranking second on the team and eighth in the conference with 3.97 digs per set while averaging 2.70 kills per set, the third-best mark on the team.

Sophomore Reagan Hickey has paced the Golden Bear offense with an average of 7.65 assists per set, good for eighth-most in the league. Redshirt freshman Audrey Waterman has also climbed into the top nine in the conference with an average of 6.47 assists per set.
 
Junior Mehlayna Straub ranks 12th in the conference with 0.86 blocks per set while also contributing 2.80 kills per set.

As a team, the Golden Bears lead the NSIC in several key categories, including points per set (18.83), hitting percentage (.295), and opponent kills per set (10.85) while ranking second in assists per set (13.70), kills per set (14.66), blocks per set (2.15), and aces per set (2.01)
 
NORTHERN STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and Wolves have met 51 times prior to Friday's match, with Concordia holding a dominant 41-10 edge in those matches. On the road in Aberdeen, S.D., the Golden Bears have posted a record of 14-6 against Northern State.

When the two teams met at the Gangelhoff Center earlier this season, the Golden Bears came away with a four-set win by scores of 25-19, 25-19, 16-25, and 25-22.  

SCOUTING THE WOLVES
The Wolves enter Friday's meeting holding an overall record of 17-5, including a mark of 9-5 in NSIC play.

Northern State features a high-powered offense, ranking third in the league in kills per set (14.25) and second in hitting percentage (.292). Defensively, NSU sits fourth in the conference in blocks per set (2.11) and seventh in digs per set (15.71).

Northern State setter Ava Nilsson leads the NSIC and ranks second in Division II with 12.24 assists per set this season. Sophomore Linnea Nesheim leads the Wolves with 3.62 kills per set, good for fourth most in the conference.
 
JAMESTOWN SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will mark just the third ever meeting between the Golden Bears and Jimmies, with the series currently tied at 1-1. Jamestown's win came in September of 1999 as a member of the NAIA, while Concordia's win came at the Gangelhoff Center earlier this season, with the Bears winning in straight sets.

SCOUTING THE JIMMIES
The Jimmies enter the week holding an overall record of 9-12, with a 4-10 mark in conference play in their first season of Division II competition.

Offensively, the Jimmies sit 13^th in the NSIC in kills per set (11.73) and 14^th in hitting percentage (.174). On defense, Jamestown ranks ninth in digs per set with 15.39 and 11^th in blocks per set with 1.73.

Junior Ava Mueller leads the Jamestown offense with 2.33 kills per set, while junior Minamiya Momoka has anchored the defensive effort with 4.35 digs per set.