INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 13 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team opened the 2025 season on Friday afternoon at the University of Indianapolis Invite, falling to host UIndy in five sets at the Ruth Lilly Center.

The Golden Bears opened strong with a 25-18 win in the first set, but the Greyhounds managed back-to-back set wins by scores of 30-28 and 25-17 to take a 2-1 advantage in the match. Concordia bounced back with a 25-21 win in the following frame to send the match to a decisive fifth set, but UIndy slammed the door with a 15-4 win to take the match 3-2.

As a unit, the Golden Bears hit .271 in the match with 76 kills while the Greyhounds tallied 65 kills at a .310 hitting clip. CSP had a 71-63 advantage in set assists and an 82-77 edge in digs.

The match marked the third meeting all time between the Greyhounds and the Golden Bears, with CSP now owning a 2-1 record in the series with wins in 2009 and 2013.

In the opening frame, Concordia worked out to an early 15-8 lead thanks in large part to a 6-1 run that included three kills from junior Mehlayna Straub. The Grayhounds managed to cut the deficit to three at 20-17, but CSP claimed five of the final six points to win the set 25-18.

CSP looked poised to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 20-14 lead late in the second set, but a UIndy rally saw the Greyhounds claw back to take a 25-24 lead on the way to an eventual 30-28 set win.

The Greyhounds hit .455 as a team in the third set, controlling the pace of play throughout the frame en route to a 25-17 win to stake a 2-1 advantage in the match.

Trailing 8-7 early in the fourth set, the Golden Bears won five of the following six points with two kills each from Straub and Ellie Sieling to take a 12-9 lead. The CSP advantage reached as many as six before Concordia walked away with a 25-21 win to send the match to a fifth and final frame.

Concordia held a 3-2 lead early in the fifth, but the Greyhounds took all the momentum from that moment on as they won 13 of the next 14 points to win the set 15-4 and take the match 3-2.

Sophomore Makenna Nold turned in a career day for the Golden Bears, logging a 22-kill, 15-dig double-double to set career highs in both categories.

Senior Ellie Sieling also registered a double-double for Concordia, the sixth of her career, finishing with 14 kills and 16 digs.

Making her Golden Bear debut, sophomore transfer Reagan Hickey also finished with a double-double, tallying 27 set assists and 14 digs. Redshirt freshman Audrey Waterman also helped to pace the offense with 34 set assists on the day.

Julia Gordon provided another efficient attack option for the Golden Bears, hitting .393 with 14 kills. Straub and Kelsey Cooper added 13 and 11 kills, respectively.

Senior libero Cassie Sieling anchored the back line for CSP with 17 digs and seven assists.

The Golden Bears will be back in action at the UIndy Invite tomorrow, taking on West Virginia State at 10 a.m. and Tiffin (Ohio) at 3:30 p.m.