MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State (5-6) lost to No. 2 ranked Concordia-St. Paul (11-1) Thursday night at the Taylor Center. The Golden Bears defeated the Mavericks in three hard-fought sets, 3-0.

The Bears and Mavericks went down to the wire in the first set, Concordia finished off Minnesota State 25-22. Concordia took the next set 25-17. In the third set, the Mavericks couldn't quite take it, losing the final set 25-20, giving the Golden Bears the victory.

The Mavericks had a balanced offensive attack, with Emily Kern leading the team in kills with five. Sophie Tietz and Kiya Durant were right behind Kern, each recording four kills. Makayla Snow led Minnesota State in assists with 11 and Brooke Bolwerk followed behind her with seven. Defensively, Tietz and Kern had five blocks and Durant had three. Ellie Kline and Bolwerk had eight and six digs, respectively. Freshmen Avery Rosenberg and Kendall White both got playing time and were difference makers on the court.

Despite how competitive the Mavericks were, the Golden Bears were still dominant. Jasmine Mulvihill led the team in kills with 14, aces and blocks with two each and digs with 12. Ellie Sieling also had 12 digs. Teagan Starkey had 41 assists to add to her nation-leading assist total.

"It was a good loss for us," said head coach Corey Phelps. "If we played like that last Saturday (against Winona State), we win." Phelps was particularly happy with the team's defensive performance; "I am super proud of them. They stuck to the game plan and were able to compete at a very high level. (Concordia is) too good to stop them all the time, but we were able to slow down enough of their swings, we got good touches and were able to swing right back. That is a game-changer for us."

The Mavericks are back on the road Saturday, traveling to Sioux Falls, S.D. to take on Augustana (3-7) in the Elmen Center at 5 p.m.