KEARNEY, Neb. – The second-seeded No. 6 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (29-5) captured its 13^th NCAA Central Region Championship with a dramatic five-set win over fourth-seeded No. 5 St. Cloud State (28-7) at the Health and Sports Center on the campus of Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday evening.

With the win, Concordia improves to 13-7 all-time in the regional championship match, with an incredible 84-12 mark in all NCAA Tournament matches. Concordia last won the Central Region Tournament in 2022, eventually advancing to the Division II national title match and finishing as the runner-up.

Concordia's trip to the Elite Eight in Sioux Falls, S.D. next week marks the 13^th in 22 seasons under Head Coach Brady Starkey. The Golden Bears are seeking the 10^th national title in program history, last winning it all in 2017.

Sophomore Makenna Nold was sensational in what was otherwise a defensive struggle on both ends, setting a new career high with 26 kills on a .380 hitting percentage and adding 11 digs and five block assists. Freshman Kaelyn Snoozy also had a career night for CSP, setting a new career high with 18 kills on a .250 hitting percentage and adding three digs and a pair of block assists.

Senior libero Cassie Sieling was outstanding for Concordia's back row, logging a match-high 27 digs to go along with five set assists. Ellie Sieling was also a key contributor on defense with 20 digs and a block, while also adding five kills. Senior Natalee Rolbiecki also reached double figures on defense with 10 digs.

Middle blocker Kelsey Cooper set a new career high with eight total blocks, and junior Mehlayna Straub added 12 kills and three total blocks.

Setter Audrey Waterman tallied 31 assists to pace the CSP offense, and sophomore Reagan Hickey added 23 assists and seven digs.

As a group, CSP hit .165 with 63 kills and 33 errors on 182 total swings, while St. Cloud State was limited to just .113 hitting with 54 kills and 33 errors on 186 attacks. Concordia also led in digs (86-78), assists (61-49), aces (3-0), and total blocks (11-10).

The Golden Bears worked out to an early 3-0 lead in the opening set and rode a narrow advantage before the Huskies took their first lead at 12-11. The teams traded blows the rest of the way in a set that contained 11 ties and five lead changes, but back-to-back attack errors from CSP were enough for St. Cloud State to claim a 25-23 set win.

Tied at 17 each in the second set, Concordia claimed the next three points to take a 20-17 lead that would hold for the remainder of the set. The Golden Bears finished the frame on a 5-2 run punctuated by a kill from Snoozy.

The Golden Bears worked out to an early 9-6 lead in the third set and never looked back, leading by as many as eight on the way to 25-18 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Bears dominated the set statistically, hitting .367 with 13 kills while SCSU hit .079 with 11 kills.

Concordia once again built an early 11-6 lead in the fourth set and remained in the driver's seat with a 19-15 edge late, but the Huskies responded in a big way with a 10-1 run to win it 25-20 and send the match to a decisive fifth set.

In the final set, CSP raced out to an early 4-1 lead and looked to be in control, but a six-point run by the Huskies followed immediately to turn the tables and give SCSU a 7-4 lead. The Golden Bears regrouped from there, winning six of the next seven points to regain the advantage at 10-8. The Huskies got within one  at 10-9 and remained within two at 12-10 shortly after, but Snoozy came through once again with a pair of clutch kills in the final three points to push CSP over the edge and give the Bears a 15-10 win.
 

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The Huskies were led by Ella Thompson with 15 kills, while Shelby Kimm logged a 13-kill, 15-dig double-double. Emily Kern and Laurin Hamman led SCSU with 16 digs each.

Concordia's Kelsey Cooper, Makenna Nold, Kaelyn Snoozy, and Cassie Sieling were each named to the 12-member All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the match. 

The Golden Bears will move on to the final NCAA Division II Volleyball Championships site at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. next week, with the Elite Eight matches set for Thursday, December 11. The eight region champions will each be re-seeded ahead of the tournament.