ST. PAUL, Minn. – The No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (8-3, 3-1 NSIC) will split matches on the road and at home this week as they will play at Winona State (2-8, 1-3 NSIC) on Thursday before hosting No. 13 St. Cloud State (8-4, 2-2) 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.

IN THE POLLS
For the third consecutive week,  the Golden Bears remained at No. 5 in the fifth American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II Poll of the season.

The Golden Bears collected 921 points in the poll, coming in behind only Ferris State (1,173 points), NSIC foe Wayne State (1,112 points), Tampa (1,061 points), and Fresno Pacific (1,032 points).

The NSIC has five representatives in the poll, with Southwest Minnesota State (#14), St. Cloud State (#13), and Minnesota Duluth (#20) joining CSP and Wayne State.

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.

MILESTONE WATCH
Head Coach Brady Starkey is approaching a major milestone, as he currently holds a 698-100 record at Concordia. Starkey, who leads all DII head coaches with an .875 winning percentage (minimum five seasons), would be just the 28th coach in Division II volleyball history to reach 700 wins.

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Golden Bears hit the road for a pair of NSIC matches. Concordia came away with a five-set win over Augustana on Friday before falling to No. 2 Wayne State (Neb.) on Saturday.

In the win over Augie, Junior Makenna Nold led the way with 16 kills, 11 digs, three blocks, and two aces for her sixth double-double of the season.

Senior Mehlayna Straub set a new career high with nine total blocks in the match, including three solo blocks. Straub also contributed 15 kills and three digs in the win.

Sophomore Kaelyn Snoozy collected the third double-double of her career, tallying 15 digs, five blocks, and 14 kills on a.314 hitting percentage. Kelsey Cooper also finished in double figures with 11 kills, four blocks, and five digs while hitting a match-high .391.

Defensively, sophomore Josie Tingelhoff tied for the team high with 15 digs while freshman Abby Rolbiecki added 11. At setter, Audrey Waterman finished with 28 assists, five digs, and two kills, while Reagan Hickey added 26 assists and seven digs.

For the match, the Golden Bears hit .201 with 65 kills while the Vikings hit .146 with 62 kills. Concordia also dominated defensively at the net, boasting a 16-9 blocking advantage in the match.

In the match against Wayne State, offensive statistics were relatively even between the teams, with Wayne State hitting .219 with 67 kills and Concordia hitting at a .210 clip with 66 kills. CSP held a significant edge in serve-receive, boasting a 9-2 advantage in aces.

Nold set a season high with 22 kills in the match, also adding 14 digs and four blocks for her seventh double-double of the season. Snoozy also tallied a double-double with 12 kills and 16 digs. Cooper was the only other Golden Bear in double figures on offense with 14 kills. Cooper also added five blocks and five digs.

Straub led the team with five total blocks and added nine kills. Senior Julia Gordon finished with four blocks and eight kills.

In the back row, sophomore libero Marta Leeland led the way with a season-high 22 digs. Tingelhoff also crossed the 20-dig mark for the first time in her collegiate career, finishing with 21. Rolbiecki notched a new career high with 19 digs in the match.

Pacing the offense was junior Reagan Hickey, who tallied 37 assists and 11 digs for her fourth double-double as a Golden Bear. Fellow junior Audrey Waterman added 23 assists, three aces, and two digs.

STAT SHEET STANDOUTS
Junior Makenna Nold paces the NSIC and ranks 11th in Division II with 4.76 points per set. Nold also ranks second in the conference in kills per set (3.82) and sits sixthin aces per set (0.47) and 14^th in blocks per set (0.80).

Junior Kelsey Cooper leads the team and ranks ninth in the NSIC with a .352 hitting percentage. Cooper also sits 13^th in the conference with 0.87 blocks per set.

At setter, Audrey Waterman ranks 12^th in the NSIC with 6.33 assists per set, while Reagan Hickey sits close behind with 6.19 assists per set, good for 13^th in the conference.

As a team, the Golden Bears rank second in the NSIC with 2.20 blocks per set. Concordia also ranks sixth in the conference in assists per set (13.20), sixth in kills per set (14.00), and seventh in digs per set (15.89).

WINONA STATE SERIES HISTORY
In a series that spans 52 prior matchups across more than 50 years, Concordia holds a 41-11 edge over the Warriors. When playing on the road, CSP holds a record of 15-6 in the all-time series.

The Golden Bears have won the last seven meetings in a streak dating back to 2022. The teams met twice last season, with Concordia claiming a four-set win on September 23 and following that up with a road sweep on October 21.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Winona State enters Thursday's matchup with an overall record of 2-8, including a mark of 1-3 in NSIC play.

On offense, Winona State ranks 13^th in the conference with 11.28 kills per set while sitting 14^th with a .165 team hitting percentage. Defensively, WSU's 1.67 blocks per set are good for ninth in the NSIC, while their 15.0 digs per set rank 10^th.

Junior Abby Ongna leads the attack with 3.36 kills per set, ninth most in the NSIC.
 
ST. CLOUD STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and Huskies have met 46 times in prior seasons, and Concordia holds a 37-9 edge in those meetings. When playing at the Gangelhoff Center, CSP has posted a record of 15-3 against SCSU.

The teams met four times in the 2025 season, with Concordia winning three of the four. CSP claimed a sweep and a four-set win over the Huskies in the regular season, but St. Cloud State managed a three-set win over the Bears in the NSIC Tournament Championship. The Golden Bears went on to avenge that loss with a five-set win in the NCAA Central Region Championship in early December.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Ranked 13^th in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll, the Huskies enter the week with an overall record of 8-4 and a 2-2 record in NSIC play.

As a team, the Huskies rank second in both the NSIC and all of Division II with 13.83 assists per set this season. SCSU also ranks eighth in Division II with 14.32 kills per set and sits sixth in the NSIC with 15.98 digs per set.

Setter Braya LaPlant averages 10.979 assists per set, third most in the NSIC and sixth most in the nation. Senior Shelby Kimm leads the SCSU offense with 3.37 kills per set, good for eighth in the conference.