The No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country squared off against each other on Friday night in St. Paul, Minn, and the University of Minnesota Duluth came out on top, defeating Concordia University, St. Paul in a thrilling five set match.
The historic and heated rivalry between the Bulldogs and Golden Bears was stronger than ever at Gangelhoff Center in front of a crowd of 1,463, as the teams battled back and forth to a five set victory for second-ranked UMD. The Bulldogs continue their undefeated season, moving to 14-0 (6-0 NSIC) while Concordia picks up its first loss of the season and falls to 13-1 (5-1 NSIC). UMD now holds a 25-21 edge in the series and defeated Concordia-St. Paul for the first time since 2014.
Sophomore outside hitter
Sarah Kelly had a career game, tying her collegiate high with 17 kills while tallying seven digs and two blocks. Reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
Erin Schindler had another outstanding performance, digging out 24 Golden Bear attacks and grabbing one service ace. Also coming off NSIC Player of the Week honors, freshman setter
Emily Torve assisted 46 times while adding a kill and a block. Concordia was led statistically by senior middle blocker Emma Lange, who had 16 kills while hitting .361 on the match. The Bulldogs were held to a season low .120 attack percentage, but remained poised throughout the match to grab the victory.
UMD jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after a nail-biting opening set. Neither the Bulldogs nor the Golden Bears held more than a three point lead, while finding themselves tied up on eight different occasions. After falling behind 21-18, UMD was able to put things together and ran off seven of the next nine points to down Concordia-St. Paul 25-23. Kelly had a standout opening set and led the Bulldogs with with six kills.
Building off their opening set victory, UMD was able to log their best set of the night by besting Concordia by a score of 25-22 to grab a 2-0 lead. After dropping the first point, the Bulldogs never looked back and held the lead the remainder of the set, extending their lead to 22-12 at one point. Concordia fought back to bring the score to 24-22, but Kelly killed off any remaining hope the Golden Bears had to take the set. UMD hit a match high .312 and committed just three errors while holding Concordia to hitting .256 and forcing seven errors.
Facing a 2-0 deficit, Concordia sparked back to take the next two sets in dominant fashion, downing the Bulldogs 25-11 and 25-15. The Golden Bears hit .455 in the third set -- their second highest output of the season -- and were led by six kills from senior outside hitter Anna Schlaake. UMD uncharacteristically had 20 errors in the third and fourth sets, resulting in a season low attack percentage of -.037 in the fourth frame.
Heading to a decisive fifth set, the enormous crowd of Bulldog and Golden Bear fans rose to their feet for premier Division II action. After trading the first eight points, UMD was able to run off seven of the next nine points to force Concordia head coach Brady Starkey to call a timeout in an attempt to slow down momentum. The Bulldogs extended their lead to 14-10, and after dropping the next two points sophomore outside hitter
Makenzie Morgen was able to spike down the Golden Bears to take the match 3-2. UMD was aided by a surprising four service errors from Concordia, who had a total of 13 on the night.
The Bulldogs will enjoy their victory over the No. 1 team in the country tonight, before getting back to work on Saturday as they travel to face Minnesota State University at 4 p.m.
