Kearney, Neb. – The University of Minnesota Duluth took on No. 3 (3rd seeded) Concordia-St. Paul on Friday evening in the NCAA DII Central Regional Semi-Final. The Bulldogs fell to the Golden Bears in three sets, 3-0. UMD finishes at 25-7 on the season while CSP advances to the NCAA DII Central Regional Final, playing the winner of Northern State University and Nebraska-Kearney.
 
UMD would swing at a .177 clip with two blocks, while CSP would swing at a .315 clip and total eight blocks.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Summer Ballard would open the scoring, hammering one past the Golden Bears defense to start things off. UMD would score two before giving one up to CSP. The Golden Bears would quickly tie things back at two a side. Back to back blocks from Sara Macek would give CSP a two-point lead before sophomore outside hitter Meredith Sutton was able to floor one. Senior middle blocker Abby Thor was able to tie things at four a side before the Golden Bears would grab a one-point lead. CSP was able to grab a four-point lead before the Bulldogs would take their first timeout at 8-4 in favor of the Golden Bears. Senior right side hitter Hanna Meyer would smoke one home out of the timeout in attempt to swing momentum. CSP was able to grab a point before Sutton put another one home. The squads would trade points until UMD was able to drop in two straight. The Golden Bears would score the next point and the ensuing one as well. Tori Hansen would drop an ace in on the Bulldogs before UMD would call its second timeout of the set. Thor would score the first point out of the timeout. CSP would drop one before senior setter Emily Balts would dump one off to give UMD the serve, before the Golden Bears would drop three straight. CSP would serve one too far and out, giving the Bulldogs the serve back. The Golden Bears were able to get the serve back before junior outside hitter Kate Berg smoked one home. UMD was able to score two before CSP would score again. Berg would pinpoint a kill in the back right corner. The Golden Bears would drop one in before Ballard was able to grab a kill. The Golden Bears would score again, forcing match point, but Thor put one home. UMD would rattle two to the floor before CSP would take their first timeout at 24-21 in favor of the Golden Bears. The Bulldogs would continue to claw back, scoring one before the Golden Bears would finish out the first set, 25-22.
 
Sophomore defensive specialist Sydney Lanoue would serve to open the second set, with Berg grabbing a kill to start things off. The Golden Bears would score the second before Thor hammered one past CSP's defense. The teams would trade points before Ballard would kill two in a row for UMD and gain a solo block in the ensuing rally. The Golden bears would respond with three of their own before serving into the net. CSP would grab one back and tie things again. The teams continued to trade points before the Golden Bears would grab a two point lead but would serve into the net shortly after. The Bulldogs would grab two of their own to tie the set again before Thor put one to the floor again. UMD rattled three straight before the Golden Bears would tie things at nine. Trading points, CSP would gain a two-point advantage at 11-9. Meyer would drop one in with the teams continuing to go back and forth, the Golden Bears would take a 13-11 lead before The Bulldogs would take their first timeout. Thor put one down right out of the timeout, with CSP scoring on the ensuing point. The Golden Bears would drop an ace before giving up a point to give the serve back to UMD. The two sides would go blow for blow, matching each other point for point before CSP would take a 20-15 lead, forcing the Bulldogs to take a timeout. Meyer would drop one in on the ensuing point, and Thor bringing down the hammer on the next. UMD would score three straight before the Golden Bears would take a timeout of their own. The Bulldogs would grab one before CSP would take the serve back. Balts would dump another ball off to grab the serve back for UMD. CSP would grab the next three to force set point. UMD would grab the next point before the Golden Bears would finish the second set, 25-21.
 
Down 2-0 in sets, UMD would open the third with a kill from Meyer. CSP would grab the next point before launching one long on the next serve. The sides would trade points before Berg would give UMD a 6-4 lead. The Golden Bears would take the ensuing point, starting a two-point rally to tie the score at six a side. Berg would drop another kill in, before UMD would commit a net violation.  After going back and forth, CSP would take the lead at 8-7. The Bulldogs would take the lead back however, going on a two-point run before giving one up to keep things tied. UMD would respond with a point, before committing another net violation. After trading points, CSP would grab the lead. The Bulldogs would keep close by, trailing by one before dropping a point to fall behind by two. The Golden Bears gained a four-point lead before UMD would call a timeout. CSP would grab the first point out of the timeout and grab a six-point lead before UMD would again call a timeout. Thor would drop one in after the timeout, with Berg scoring on the ensuing point. The Golden Bears would grab the next point before Thor would put one down again. Ballard would score a point before CSP would take their first timeout of the set. Coming out of the timeout, UMD trailed 18-15 with the serve in hand. CSP dropped on in to take the serve back. Ballard would again grab the serve back for the Bulldogs before the Golden Bears would score again, starting a five-point rally and forcing match point. UMD wouldn't go down without a fight, scoring one before having the Golden Bears would score the final point, finishing the set at 25-17.
 
UMD bows out of the NCAA Tournament finishing 1-1 as their season has been brought to an end.