By: CJ Siewert

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The No. 3 Concordia University volleyball team shut out No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State 3-0 in a battle of NSIC powerhouses on Friday night at the Gangelhoff Center – set scores were 25-19, 25-20 and 28-26. The Golden Bears ended the Mustangs’ run of seven-straight victories, while improving to 7-1 overall and 1-0 in the NSIC. SMSU falls to 7-1 overall and 0-1 in the league.

Concordia jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first set and never looked back. The Golden Bears went on an 8-to-3 run midway through the set to take a comfortable 21-13 lead, but the Mustangs battled back to cut the deficit to three at 22-19. CU closed the set, though, on a kill by Kayla Koenecke (Delano, Minn. ) and two errors by SMSU. Koenecke end the first with six kills on eight attempts for a .625 attack percentage.

The second started as a back-and-forth battle as SMSU slightly edged the Bears to a 16-14 advantage, but that’s when the home team took over. Concordia would claim six of the next seven points for a 20-17 lead before the Mustangs came back with three of the next four, but the Bears ended the set on a pair of kills from Koenecke and a couple errors on the visitors. Ellie Duffy (Fridley, Minn. ) was the offensive leader in the second with eight kills and a .500 attack rate. As a team, the Bears hit at a .425 clip.

The third set tested each team throughout with 15 scoring ties and seven lead changes. The lead switched sides four times in the first nine points for a 5-4 Concordia lead and never trailed until a kill by Devin Diedrich put the Mustangs up 21-20 late in the set. CU regained the lead two points later only to give it back in the ensuing two points for a 23-22 SMSU lead. The Mustangs held set-point twice, but the Bears answered and took a 27-26 lead on a kill by Koenecke. The set was then won on a ball handling error, giving the Bears the shutout.

Koenecke and Duffy led the Bears on the attack with 16 kills each. Koenecke hit at a .538 percentage, while Duffy posted a .438 mark. Kara Pioske (Waconia, Minn. ) paced the squad on the receiving end with a game-high 13 digs. And Amanda Konetchy (Victoria, Minn. ) recorded 47 of the team’s 50 assists.

Concordia continues NSIC action Saturday at home against Sioux Falls. The match is slated the begin at 3:00 p.m.