By: by Patrick Rydeen

NSIC Volleyball Northern State vs Concordia - Images by Justin Oakman
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The #3 Concordia University volleyball team (29-2) knocked #22 Northern State out of the NSIC/US Bank Tournament in the semifinals for the second consecutive season.  The Golden Bears advance to the championship to take on the #2 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (30-2).  CU improved to 2-0 over NSU on the season.  The winner of the match tomorrow receives an automatic bid in the NCAA Central Region Tournament.

Concordia hit an incredible .443 for the match with 49 kills on just 88 attacks.  Kayla Koenecke and Erienne Lauersdorf each contributed 11 kills to lead the balanced Golden Bear attack.  Koenecke also led the team with 15 kills to complete the double-double, her 19th of the season, while hitting an efficient .529.  Emily McDonough also finished in double digits with 10 kills to go along with seven digs.  Amanda Konetchy facilitated the offense with 40 assists as she also chipped in six digs.

Kelsey Chambers was a bright spot for the Wolves with 13 kills and a .440 attack percentage as NSU hit just .149 as a team.  Setter Drew Smith added 29 assists and six digs.  The Wolves came into the weekend as the sixth ranked team in the Central Region and will await their fate tomorrow during the selection show.

The Golden Bears took care of business in the first set and led pretty much throughout.  CU pushed the lead out to five quickly at 9-4 and the lead didn't fall below three the rest of the way.  Northern State cut it back to three following a 3-0 run to turn it from 16-10 to 16-13.  The lead hit a set-high at seven as CU led 23-16.  The teams traded the next four points as Concordia took the set 25-18.  Erienne Lauersdorf did the heavy lifting on the attack with six kills in the set.

CU put the second set away quickly by scoring the first six points and nine of the first ten.  The lead hit double digits at 16-6 as the Golden Bears cruised to a 25-12 win.  Concordia hit an even .500 in the set and held the Wolves to an even .000 as they built a 2-0 cushion.

Northern State showed signs of life in the third, scoring four of the first five.  A 6-0 run from the Golden Bears turned a 6-4 NSU lead into a 10-6 CU lead.  Northern State wouldn't go away as they evened the score back up at 15 and again at 17 and 18.  Concordia shut the door by scoring five straight and seven of the next eight to win 25-19 and complete the sweep.

The win sets up a huge match in the conference championship with #2 Minnesota Duluth.  The Golden Bears and Bulldogs have split the season series with each team winning in five sets on their own court.  The two teams have met 40 times with UMD winning 22 and CU winning 18.