ST. PAUL, Minn. – The No. 9 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (18-5, 13-2 NSIC) is set for a trio of road matches this week, with a mid-week bout at Minnesota State scheduled for Tuesday before they wrap up the week at Sioux Falls (S.D.) on Friday and No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday.

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WATCH CONFERENCE MATCHES ONLINE - NSIC NETWORK
Starting with the 2026-27 season, Concordia and the NSIC will call Midco Sports Plus the streaming home for the NSIC Network. Midco Sports Plus, a regional cable provider primarily based in North Dakota, South Dakota, and parts of Minnesota, features an expanded variety of online sports coverage.
 
The NSIC Network will be part of a subscription service with annual access plans starting at under $7 per month for the full year ($79/year) or a monthly service for $15, which includes NSIC coverage as well as Summit League coverage.
 
Concordia's home broadcasts will continue to feature multiple cameras with instant replay, along with commentary from St. Paul-native Dan Flanagan, a graduate of Fordham University (N.Y.), where he covered multiple NCAA Division I sports teams on campus for the Rams, including football and basketball in the Patriot League. Flanagan has been the broadcast voice of the Golden Bears for nearly 20 years and called multiple national, regional, and conference championships.
 
For more information, view the NSIC's press release announcing the Midco Sports Plus partnership: https://cspbears.com/news/2026/7/16/athletics-midco-sports-launches-nsics-new-streaming-home.aspx
 
For streaming support and troubleshooting, visit Midco's support page: https://sports.midco.com/support

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 2026-27 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 their free passes through Vivenu.

NOLD NABS MORE WEEKLY HONORS
Junior Makenna Nold added more weekly honors to her collection this week, securing NSIC Offensive Player of the Week honors while being named D2VBStats.com National Player of the Week.

Nold was dominant for the Golden Bears throughout the week, totaling 74 kills on .383 hitting across three matches. Her 6.73 kills per set led all of Division II, while her 2.82 digs per set led the Golden Bears on defense.

In CSP's four-set win over Jamestown on Saturday, Nold tied both the CSP and NSIC single-match records with 34 kills on .423 hitting. She added 22 kills on .425 hitting in a sweep of Northern State on Friday, and contributed 18 kills in a non-conference match against No. 15 St. Cloud State on Tuesday.

NCAA POWER INDEX STANDINGS
The second iteration of the official NCAA Power Index rankings was released on Monday morning, with Concordia-St. Paul sitting sixth in the Central Region.

 At-large teams will be selected using the NCAA Power Index (NPI), the system that houses the division's statistical data and objectively applies the selection criteria to the data based on the sport committee's established weighted criteria. NPI will determine the at-large teams selected to the championship after the Automatic Qualifiers (AQ) have been designated through conference tournament championships.

Ranked sixth with an NPI of 63.115, Concordia is one of four NSIC teams in the top eight in the Central Region. Wayne State remains in the top spot with an NPI of 71.309, while Southwest Minnesota State ranks just above CSP in fifth with an NPI of 63.194. St. Cloud State ranks seventh with an NPI of 61.00

The NSIC, the Great American Conference (GAC), and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) make up the 41-team Central Region. There will be eight teams selected per region to make up the field of 64 teams. Regional competition will be single-elimination matches played on the final campuses of participating institutions during a three-day period. Participating teams will be seeded according to their NPI.

NPI rankings will be announced again on November 2 and November 9. NPI rankings will be pushed daily starting with the third ranking (Nov. 2). The NPI rankings used for selections will be posted after the selection show airs on NCAA.com. on November 15 at 9 p.m. (CT). For more information about NPI, click here.

IN THE POLLS
Following a 2-1 week,  the Golden Bears fell two spots to ninth in the tenth American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II Poll of the season.

The Golden Bears collected 750 points in the poll. Undefeated Ferris State remains atop the poll with 1,175 points and 47 first-place votes, while NSIC foe Wayne State (Neb.) remained at No. 2 with 1,114 points.

The NSIC maintained five representatives in the poll, all of which sit in the top 20. Joining CSP and Wayne State from the NSIC are St. Cloud State (#13, 588 points), Southwest Minnesota State (#15, 526 points), and Minnesota Duluth (#19, 348 points).

Concordia has been a mainstay near the top of the poll for more than two decades, as it has ranked outside the top 10 for just eight weeks since 2003, never ranking below #15. The Golden Bears have ranked #1 at least once in 17 of the past 21 seasons. In total, CSP has spent an incredible 84 weeks as the top team in the country since debuting there in the 2004 preseason poll.

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Golden Bears went 2-0 in NSIC play with wins over Northern State (S.D.) and Jamestown (N.D.).

In the win over Northern State, Nold was nearly unstoppable for the Golden Bears, setting a new career-high for a three-set match with 22 kills while hitting .425 on 40 swings. Her 22 kills in a three-set match are tied for the fourth-most in program history. The junior also added two aces, a block assist, and five digs, finishing with 24.5 total points.

Senior Julia Gordon was also a key contributor on offense, tallying 13 kills on .345 hitting. Junior Kelsey Cooper joined her in double figures with 10 kills and no errors on 15 attacks for a .667 hitting clip.

Pacing the offense was setter Audrey Waterman with 24 assists, who also contributed two blocks and four digs. Her setting partner, Regan Hickey, added 19 assists and four digs.

On defense, freshman Abby Rolbiecki led the way with nine digs, while libero Kaelyn Snoozy finished with seven digs.

As a team, Concordia hit .333 with 52 kills, while Northern State logged 35 kills on .253 hitting. Serve-receive provided another significant advantage for the Bears, as they had seven aces to NSU's three.

In the win over Northern State, Nold tallied 34 kills to tie the single-match record at CSP and in the NSIC as a whole, joining Emily Palkert (2007, five sets) and Anna Schlaak (2015, four sets) atop Concordia's all-time list. Across the Northern Sun, Maddey Guetter (Augustana, 2021) and Kenzie Foley (St. Cloud State, 2024) are the only other players to accomplish the feat.

Nold took 71 swings in the match, the fifth-most in school history, and had just four errors, hitting .423. The junior also led the team with 15 digs in the win and added two block assists and an ace, good for the second-most points in program history with 36.

Senior Julia Gordon logged her highest kill output as a Golden Bear and tied her career high with 16 kills in the match, while fellow senior Mehlayna Straub joined her in double figures with 10 kills on .421 hitting and contributed three total blocks.

Setter Audrey Waterman set the pace for Concordia's efficient offensive performance, logging 32 assists and adding seven digs. Reagan Hickey finished with 23 assists and added eight digs for the Bears.

Defensively, sophomores Kaelyn Snoozy and Marta Leeland tallied 12 digs each for Concordia's back row.

The Golden Bears hit .312 with 72 kills as a team, while Jamestown tallied 55 kills and hit .244. Concordia also had a significant edge in both assists (67-52) and digs (81-69).

STAT SHEET STANDOUTS
Following her outstanding week, Makenna Nold leads the NSIC in both kills per set (4.07) and points per set (4.91) this season, with both metrics ranking in the top 15 in all of Division II. Nold also ranks seventh in the NSIC in aces per set (0.41).

Junior Mehlayna Straub leads the team and ranks fourth in the NSIC with a .372 hitting percentage. Senior Kelsey Cooper ranks second on the team with a .340 hitting percentage, tenth best in the conference.

At setter, Audrey Waterman ranks 13^th in the NSIC with 6.17 assists per set, while Reagan Hickey sits close behind with 5.92 assists per set, good for 14^th in the conference.

As a team, the Golden Bears rank fifth in the NSIC with 2.07 blocks per set. Concordia also ranks third in the conference in assists per set (13.26), fourth in kills per set (14.06), and fourth in digs per set (16.08).

MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
Heading into Tuesday's meeting, Concordia holds an all-time record of 39-4 against Minnesota State. When playing in Mankato, the Golden Bears have a record of 15-3.

CSP has won 21 straight matches against the Mavericks, including a three-set win over MSU earlier this season on September 29 at the Gangelhoff Center.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State comes into the week with an overall record of 10-13, including a 8-7 mark in NSIC play.

The Mavericks have been effective at the service line thus far, ranking third in the conference with 1.90 aces per set. On offense, MSU ranks 12^th in the conference with 12.33 kills per set.

On defense, the Mavericks rank eighth in the conference with 1.89 blocks per set and sit 13^th in the NSIC with 13.93 digs per set.

Junior Jadyn Lester leads the NSIC with an average of 0.56 aces per set this season, while also ranking sixth in the conference with 9.33 assists per set. Senior Olivia Sturgis ranks ninth in the NSIC with 0.91 blocks per set for MSU.
 
SIOUX FALLS SERIES HISTORY
In 25 prior meetings with the Cougars, CSP has posted a record of 19-6. When playing in Sioux Falls, Concordia is 8-2 all-time.

The Golden Bears have controlled the series in recent years, winning six straight and nine of the last 10 against USF. When the teams met at the Gangelhoff Center on September 12 earlier this season, Concordia claimed victory in four sets.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Sioux Falls enters the week holding an overall record of 8-15, including a record of 4-11 in NSIC play.

The Cougars feature a stingy defense at the net, pacing the conference with an average of 2.42 blocks per set. The USF back row ranks 14^th in the NSIC with 13.61 digs per set.

On the attack, the Cougars sit 11^th in the NSIC with 12.42 kills per set and also rank 11^th in the conference with 11.69 assists per set.

USF senior Haley Wolfe paces the NSIC with 1.19 blocks per set this season, and junior Ella Walker ranks fourth with 1.09 blocks per set. Walker also paces the conference with a .410 hitting percentage and leads the team with 2.81 kills per set, 22^nd most in the NSIC. Libero Maci Lerseth leads the team and sits fifth in the conference with 4.51 digs per set.

SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
Concordia and Southwest Minnesota State have met 74 times over the course of a series dating back more than 50 years, with CSP holding a 45-28-1 edge in those matches. In road matches, the Golden Bears hold a 16-11 advantage.

When the teams played each other at the Gangelhoff Center earlier this season on September 11, the Golden Bears came away with a four-set win.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Ranked 15^th in the latest AVCA Poll, the Mustangs enter the week with an overall record of 18-4, including a record of 12-3 in Northern Sun play.

On offense, the Mustangs lead all of Division II in both assists per set (13.83) and kills per set (14.64), while also leading the NSIC with 1.96 aces per set.

Defensively, SMSU sits second in the NSIC with 17.55 digs per set and ranks fourth with 2.11 blocks per set.

SMSU libero Ashlynn Schroeder ranks third in the NSIC with 4.60 digs per set, while Natalie Pilney sits fifth in the conference with 1.08 blocks per set. Leah Jones paces the Mustangs' offense with 3.21 kills per set, good for 12^th in the NSIC.