ST. PAUL, Minn. – The No. 6 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (22-4, 17-1 NSIC) is set to wrap up the regular season with a pair of NSIC road contests at Bemidji State (7-19, 4-14 NSIC) on Friday evening and Minnesota Duluth (17-8, 10-8 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon.
 
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.

NSIC STANDINGS UPDATE
Heading into the final weekend of conference play, Concordia and Wayne State are locked in a tie atop the conference standings with both holding conference records of 17-1. In the event of a tie at the conclusion of the regular season, the NSIC will crown co-champions and determine seeding based on the conference's tiebreaking procedures.

CSP has already clinched a top four seed in the tournament and will host an opponent to be determined on Tuesday, November 18 at the Gangelhoff Center in the quarterfinals with first serve set for 6 p.m. The Golden Bears have won 14 NSIC regular season titles in their history, last claiming the conference crown in 2017.

NCAA CENTRAL REGION RANKINGS
The second NCAA Volleyball Regional Rankings of 2025 were released on Wednesday, and Concordia-St. Paul was ranked fourth in the central region.

CSP, Wayne State, St. Cloud State, and Minnesota State each appeared in the second edition of the rankings. For NCAA Division II sports with regional rankings, schools will be listed as under consideration in alphabetical order for the first ranking of the season. The final two rankings, released on a weekly basis, are in rank order. The second edition of the rankings considers all matches played through November 9, 2025.

The NSIC, the Mid-America Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC) make up the 40-team NCAA Central Region.  The top eight teams in the region will advance to the NCAA region tournament on December 4-7.  Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the MIAA, GAC and NSIC postseason tournaments, with the remaining five spots awarded on an at-large basis. 

IN THE POLLS
Following a 3-0 week in which CSP defeated No. 10 St. Cloud State in four sets and swept both Minnesota Crookston and MSU Moorhead, the Golden Bears jumped three spots to No. 6 in the 11th American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II Poll of the season.

The Golden Bears collected 918 points in the poll, coming in 20 points ahead of No. 7 Central Oklahoma and 42 points behind No. 5 Nebraska Kearney. 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 23-0 record.

CSP is one of five Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference representatives in the poll, with Wayne State (3), St. Cloud State (11), Southwest Minnesota State (14), and Minnesota State (23) each remaining in the top 25. Both Northern State and Minnesota Duluth dropped out of the top 25 this week.

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.

LAST TIME OUT
Last week, the Golden Bears capped off a perfect home stand with a four-set win over No. 10 St. Cloud State and sweeps of both Minnesota Crookston and MSU Moorhead.

A significant advantage on offense helped the Golden Bears lock down the marquee victory over St. Cloud State, as they logged an impressive .349 hitting percentage with 64 kills and just 11 errors on 152 total swings, while limiting the Huskies to .204 hitting with 50 kills and 19 errors on 152 attacks. CSP also led in both assists (60–48) and digs (72–66). Sophomore Makenna Nold paced the Golden Bears with 18 kills, 13 digs, and four block assists.

The Golden Bears hit an efficient .325 with 56 kills and only 15 errors on 126 swings in the sweep of UMC, while limiting the Golden Eagles to .148 hitting with 24 kills and 8 errors on 108 attacks. Concordia also held decisive advantages in assists (52–24), digs (69–48), and aces (7–2). Senior Cassie Sieling turned in a career performance in the back row for the Golden Bears, tallying 5 assists and 26 digs — the highest dig total of her career in a three-set match and tied for the fifth-most in program history for a three-set contest.

In the win over MSU Moorhead, the Golden Bears were dominant on both sides of the net, hitting an impressive .487 with 44 kills and just six errors on 78 swings while holding the Dragons to .049 hitting with 24 kills and 20 errors on 82 attempts. Concordia also controlled the match in nearly every other statistical category, leading in assists (41–23), digs (35–25), blocks (8–2), and aces (8–1). Senior Ellie Sieling powered the Golden Bear offense with a match-high 14 kills on .481 hitting, adding four digs and an ace for a total of 15 points.

STAT SHEET STANDOUTS
Makenna Nold remains atop the conference leaderboard in both kills per set (4.33) and points per set (5.26) with both marks ranking in the top 12 in all of Division II. The sophomore also sits third in the league in aces per set (0.45).  

Defensively, senior libero Cassie Sieling leads the team with 4.17 digs per set, seventh-most in the NSIC. Senior Ellie Sieling continues to be a key two-way player for the Golden Bears, ranking second on the team and 12th in the conference with 3.34 digs per set while averaging 2.90 kills per set, the third-best mark on the team.

Sophomore Reagan Hickey has paced the Golden Bear offense with an average of 7.46 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 6.41 assists per set.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Cooper ranks 10^th in the NSIC with 0.93 blocks per set, while junior Mehlayna Straub ranks 13th in the conference with 0.86 blocks per set while also contributing 2.91 kills per set.

As a team, the Golden Bears lead the NSIC in several key categories, including points per set (19.02), kills per set (14.91), and assists per set (13.90), while leading all of Division II with a .303 hitting percentage.
 
BEMIDJI STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears hold an all-time record of 39-8-1 against the Beavers, with all eight losses and the lone tie all occurring prior to 2002. Concordia has won the last 37 meetings, with 34 of those victories coming in straight sets.

The two teams last met almost exactly a year ago on November 16, 2024, with Concordia securing a road sweep.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
The Beavers enter Friday's match with an overall record of 7-19 and a 4-14 record in NSIC play.

On offense, Bemidji State averages 12.10 kills per set on a .184 hitting percentage with both marks ranking 12^th in the NSIC. Defensively, BSU ranks 12^th with 14.50 digs per set and 15^th with 1.36 blocks per set.

Sophomore Lily Riese leads the charge for the Beaver attack, sitting eighth in the conference with 3.42 kills per set. Setter Madison Tripp paces the offense with 6.24 assists per set.
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears hold a 36-30 all-time record against the Bulldogs, including a mark of 36-27 in the Division II era. When playing in Duluth, the Bulldogs hold a 15-13 advantage. CSP has dominated the series in recent years, winning 10 straight over UMD dating back to 2019 including a pair of victories last season. 

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs enter the weekend with an overall record of 17-8 and a 10-8 record in NSIC play.

On offense, the Bulldogs sit fifth in the NSIC with 13.92 kills per set and sixth in the league with a .257 hitting percentage. Defensively, UMD is eighth in the conference with 15.47 digs per set and eighth with 1.96 blocks per set.

Junior Madeline Guetzkow leads the Bulldog offense with 3.17 kills per set, 13^th best in the NSIC, while setter Ava Jones sits fourth in the conference with 11.21 assists per set. Junior libero Madison Reed has been strong in the back row for UMD, ranking fifth in the conference with 4.55 digs per set.