ST. PAUL, Minn. – The top-seeded No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (26-4) punched its ticket to the NSIC Tournament Championship match for the fourth consecutive season with a sweep (25-19, 25-22, 25-22) of fifth-seeded Sioux Falls (20-10) in the NSIC Tournament semifinals on Friday evening at the Gangelhoff Center.
The win improved Concordia's all-time NSIC Tournament record to 34-9 and evened the all-time series to 1-1 against USF in postseason play. The Golden Bears now advance to the NSIC Tournament Championship for a clash with third-seeded No. 11 St. Cloud State for the fourth straight season, with the Golden Bears claiming the tournament title in 2023 and the Huskies winning in 2022 and 2024.
The Golden Bears delivered a balanced performance, finishing with 45 kills and a .259 hitting percentage while the Cougars logged 41 kills on .190 hitting. CSP also owned advantages in aces (5–2), digs (48–47), and assists (44-38) while the teams were nearly even at the net with Concordia posting five total blocks to USF's seven.
Freshman
Kaelyn Snoozy led the CSP attack with 11 kills on a .286 hitting percentage. Junior
Mehlayna Straub was just behind her with 10 kills on .444 hitting to go along with three blocks and two digs. Sophomore
Makenna Nold neared a double-double with nine kills, 10 digs, and three block assists.
Senior
Ellie Sieling was all over the court, finishing with eight kills and a team-high 13 digs, while
Kelsey Cooper chipped in 6 kills and two blocks. Senior libero
Cassie Sieling added 10 digs for Concordia's back row.
Setting duties were split effectively, as
Audrey Waterman tallied 22 assists, three digs, a block, and a team-high three service aces, while
Reagan Hickey contributed 17 assists and two digs.
Sioux Falls was led by Sadie Voss and 10 kills and 14 digs, while Courtney Holsteen added eight kills of her own. Setter Elise Gillen handed out 16 assists and added two aces and seven digs. Middle blocker Haley Wolfe contributed five kills and four total blocks, and libero Maci Lerseth added 10 digs.
Holding a narrow 9-8 lead in the opening set, the Golden Bears put together a run of five straight points to create breathing room with a 14-8 advantage. The Cougars pulled within three points on five separate occasions late in the set, but the Bears withstood each USF push to eventually claim the 25-19 win.
In set two, an 8-3 run by the Cougars erased a six-point lead for CSP and made it 18-17 with the Bears clinging to the lead. Concordia never relinquished the advantage, however, with the two teams alternating the final 10 points before CSP came away with a 25-22 win.
The Golden Bears looked poised to put the match away comfortably as they held a 13-6 lead in the third set, but the Cougars clawed back with a 10-3 run to even the score at 16 each. Two more ties followed shortly after, but it was CSP finishing stronger once again with three straight points to end the set by a score of 25-22 once again.
CSP has now reached the tournament title match 13 times in its history, winning seven championships (2004, 2005, 2006, 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2023).
Saturday's championship match against St. Cloud State is set for a 5 p.m. first serve at the Gangelhoff Center.
