DENVER – The No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (5-2) wrapped up play at the 2026 Colorado Premier Challenge on Saturday, topping tournament host No. 7 MSU Denver (4-4) in five sets and defeating No. 25 West Texas A&M (4-5) in four sets to claim first place in the tournament's silver bracket.
Both matches were rematches of Concordia's two most recent NCAA championship appearances, as the Golden Bears faced off against the Roadrunners in 2025 and the Lady Buffs in 2022 for the national titles in those seasons.
MATCH ONE: Concordia 3, MSU Denver 2
The Golden Bears began the day facing off against seventh-ranked MSU Denver, outlasting the Roadrunners on their home court in a dramatic five-set victory.
After dropping the opening set 25-15, the Golden Bears took control of the match with a 25-19 win in set two and a dominant 25-11 victory in set three. The Roadrunners staved off a CSP match-point opportunity late in the fourth to send the match to a decisive fifth set, but Concordia hung on for a 15-13 win to take the match.
Junior
Makenna Nold, who was named to the All-Tournament Team at the end of the day, topped 20 kills for the first time this season and neared a double-double with nine digs.
The trio of
Julia Gordon,
Kelsey Cooper, and
Kaelyn Snoozy tallied 12 kills each for CSP, with Snoozy logging 13 digs for the first double-double of her career.
Sophomore
Marta Leeland anchored the Golden Bear defense with 14 digs, and the setter duo of
Audrey Waterman and
Reagan Hickey paced the offense with 27 and 25 assists, respectively.
The Roadrunners took control early in the opening set and never looked back, cruising to a 25-15 set win. The Golden Bears found themselves trailing 18-17 late in the second frame, but they found a spark with a seven-point run on the serve of Snoozy to take control of the set and ultimately pull off a 25-19 win. The late offensive eruption included six kills from Cooper, five of which came consecutively, in the final nine points of the set.
Concordia was in control from the jump in the third set, working out to a 12-2 lead and maintaining firm control on the way to a 25-11 set win. The Golden Bears dominated the stat sheet in the set, hitting .545 with 13 kills while limiting the Roadrunners to -.034 hitting with seven kills.
The fourth set was one of momentum shifts, as it contained 11 ties and five lead changes. A kill from Nold provided a match point opportunity for CSP as they led 24-23, but the Roadrunners dug deep with three straight points to win the set 26-24 and send the match to a fifth set.
Both teams spent time with a narrow advantage early in the fifth set, but MSU Denver looked to be in control with a 13-11 lead late. Concordia rallied from that point, however, claiming four straight points with a service ace from Leeland providing the final punctuation in a 15-13 win.
MATCH TWO: Concordia 3, West Texas A&M 1
Playing for first place in the silver bracket, the Golden Bears claimed a four-set win over the Lady Buffs.
Cooper set a new career high in the match with a team-leading 17 kills on .577 hitting. The junior also added an ace and three block assists.
Senior
Mehlayna Straub finished with three block assists and 12 kills on .600 hitting, and Gordon added three digs and three total blocks.
Nold registered her third double-double of the season with 10 kills, 12 digs, and a career-high five aces.
Leeland once again led the defensive effort for the Bears, tallying her highest dig total of the season with 18. Freshman
Abby Rolbiecki added six digs.
At setter, Waterman paced the offense with 26 assists while also leading the team with five block assists and one solo block. Hickey added 22 assists and eight digs.
As a unit, Concordia hit .323 2ith 57 kills and limited West Texas A&M to just .167 hitting with 44 kills. CSP also held advantages in aces (10-5), blocks (10-7), assists (52-39), and digs (52-50).
The Golden Bears began to pull away early in the first set, working out to a 12-7 lead and maintaining a comfortable cushion on the way to a 25-16 set win.
The Lady Buffs evened the match with a 25-23 win of their own in the second set, but the Golden Bears regained control with another dominant set in the third, hitting .421 and limiting the Lady Buffs to a -0.04 clip in a 25-14 set win.
Set four was more competitive as the two teams found themselves deadlocked at 19 each, but a four-point run by the Bears followed to put CSP in firm control. The win was once again finished off with a CSP ace, this time off the serve of Waterman.
The Golden Bears will now return home as they prepare to open conference play when they host No. 10 Southwest Minnesota State on Friday at 6 p.m.
