Box Score

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The top-ranked team in the NSIC, NCAA Central Region and Division II nation threw up a road block in the Northern State volleyball team's post-season run Saturday afternoon.  The Wolves advanced to the NSIC / US Bank Tournament semifinals after a four-set win over #16 Wayne State on Friday, but ran into a Concordia-St. Paul team that has now won 17 straight matches after Saturday's 3-0 win over NSU.

CU, five-time defending national champions, fended off a tenacious NSU squad, defeating the Wolves 25-20, 25-20, 25-15.  The loss likely ends NSU's season at 19-11 overall.  The Golden Bears improved to 27-3 with the win and will play for the tournament championship tomorrow afternoon.

NSU held early leads in both the first and third sets, but both were short-lived.  CU erased a 3-1 deficit in the first and pushed the lead to 14-7.  The Wolves were able to find their footing late in the set, staving off three straight Golden Bear set points on a pair of Ellie Duffy attack errors and a kill by Macey Finizio to make it a 24-20 affair.  CU would not allow a fourth to go by, however, as Duffy ended the set with a kill.

CU began set two on a 5-0 run, controlling both the early and late action in that stanza.  NSU put together a 6-0 run through the middle stages of the set to force a 14-all tie, but the Golden Bears scored eight of the next ten points to regain some distance and head into the break leading two sets to none.

NSU again led in the early stages of the third set, but a big 14-1 run by the Golden Bears took the wind out of the NSU sails and put the Wolves in a deficit they could not overcome.

Freshman Kelsey Chambers had 11 kills to lead the way for the Wolves.  Senior Kaleinani Kabalis and sophomore Macey Finizio added six apiece, as the Golden Bears held NSU to a .176 percentage at the net.

CU was led by Duffy's 11 kills and ten apiece from Cassie Haag and Ashley Murtha.