ST. PAUL, Minn. – No. 2 Concordia University overwhelmed Winona State University on Saturday afternoon as the defending national champion Golden Bears downed the Warriors in straight sets. WSU hung tough for the duration of the match but saw CSP claim set wins of 25-19, 25-22, 25-21.
The loss drops Winona State to 3-7 (0-2 NSIC) while Concordia improves to 8-2 (2-0 NSIC).
The Golden Bears pulled away in set one with a five-point run to claim a 15-9 lead. Trailing 19-13, freshman Cori Meyers bookended a pair of kills around a kill by sophomore Megan Flom to cut the Warrior deficit to just four points, but the home team wouldn't be denied and staked its claim to a 1-0 match lead.
After hitting .150 as a team in the opening set, the Winona State offense out-hit CSP, .343-.325. The Warriors rallied from an early 7-3 hole on the back of two more kills and a block by Meyers. Senior Sophie Wilker drilled her second kill of a five-point run that saw WSU take an 8-7 edge in the game.
The Warriors led by as many as four points late in the game at 20-16 and a kill by Taylor Goar put WSU in favorable position at 22-20. However, the home team rattled off five straight points to the finish line and took a commanding 2-0 match advantage.
After deterring Winona State in set two, CSP never trailed in the third and final game. Playing in her first match of the season, Maria Wrage stepped up huge late with a kill to knot the score at 21-21, but the Golden Bears once again strung together four straight points to secure the sweep.
CSP recorded its lowest hitting percentage of the night in set three (.205) and was able to outlast the Warriors who recorded a match-high eight errors in the final game.
The Golden Bear defense edged WSU in digs, 58-57, and was able to hold the Warriors without a service ace for the first time this season. Becca Pagel led the WSU defense with 12 digs.
Meyers had a team-best 10 kills. It marked her fifth double-digit kill effort this year and follows her season-high 17 kills recorded on Thursday.
The Warriors return to conference action at home on Tuesday against (RV) Upper Iowa. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. in McCown Gymnasium.
