ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota State volleyball (18-9, 10-8 NSIC) fell to the two-seed Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears (22-5, 17-2 NSIC) 3-1 on Tuesday night. The Mavericks took set one and looked like they would come away with the third, but CSP closed out the final three sets of the match to win it. Seniors Emma Loveall and Toryn Richards both recorded 10 kills in the loss for Minnesota State.
 
The Mavericks started the match up 2-0, but the Golden Bears scored six straight points until graduate senior Loveall smashed a kill over the net to end the CSP run. Emily Kern and Richards had back-to-back kills to cut the Maverick deficit to two, 8-6. Two kills from Kiya Durant at the net tied the match at 10-10 and an ace from the senior middle blocker tied the score again at 12-12. Concordia took a 17-13 lead after a kill from NSIC Freshman of the Year, Makenna Nold, and a service ace from the team's service leader, Ellie Sieling. Minnesota State took its first timeout of the opening set after going down four and two kills from Emma Schmidt forced another with the score at 19-13.
 
Kern's fourth kill of the match ended the Golden Bear run at 5-0 and a solo block from her cut the deficit to three. A kill from Richards, an ace from Kaci Beesecker, and a CSP attack error tied the match back up at 19-19. A kill from Richards gave Minnesota State a 21-20 lead, but Schmidt's fifth kill of the set tied it up again. After Concordia committed an attack error, a kill from Durant put MSU two points away from victory in the first set. A kill and an ace from Schmidt knotted up the score again, but Richards closed out the set with a kill and a service ace to take set one, 25-23. Kern and Richards both had five kills in the first set for Minnesota State.
 
Beesecker served up her second ace of the match early in the second set to tie the score at 2-2. A competitive kill at the net ended a 3-0 run for CSP, but two more points from Schmidt gave the Golden Bears an 8-4 lead. Concordia went on a 6-1 run to stretch out its lead, but a kill from Loveall ended it. A pair of kills from Nold and Schmidt forced the Mavericks to take a timeout with the score at 16-8.
 
Out of the break, Loveall and Avery Klein scored a pair of kills, and another Klein attack found the hardwood to make the score 17-11. Golden Bears had another couple of kills which forced another MSU timeout. The home team went on a 4-1 run to make the score 23-12. Minnesota State went on a 6-1 run to chip into the Golden Bear lead, but a service error for the Mavericks ended it. Concordia-St. Paul tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-18 victory in set two.
 
After 10 serves in the third set, the score was an even 5-5. Durant punched a ball just over the net that pinballed to the floor to give the Mavericks the lead, but CSP won a long volley to tie it back up. Kills from Klein, Durant, and Loveall and an ace from Richards put the Mavericks up 11-7 after a 5-1 run. Concordia scored three straight to force a Minnesota State timeout. Klein crushed a kill that put the team up 15-13. Klein hit a kill and then served an ace to put the Mavericks up 18-15 and a Richards kill extended the lead to four. Richards had another slicing kill to put MSU up 20-16 which forced a timeout call from the CSP bench.
 
The Golden Bears scored three quick points out of the break, which forced Minnesota State to call a timeout with a 20-19 lead. Schmidt tied it up after the timeout, but Jadyn Lester subbed in after Loveall got a kill to regain service possession. The freshman served up an ace that put the Mavericks up 23-20 and forced Concordia to call another timeout. The Golden Bears had a kill and a block out of the break and tied the score at 23-23 on a service ace. Loveall forced a set point with a kill, but Claudia Stahlke had two kills to close out the set and give CSP a 26-24 victory and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
 
After the Golden Bears started set four up 4-1, Minnesota State was the benefactor of two CSP attack errors to cut the lead to one. Schmidt had two kills and a block assist to put the home team up 7-3. The Golden Bears went up 9-4 and forced an MSU timeout.
 
Loveall and Durant combined for a block to make the score 10-6, but CSP went on a 5-0 run, capped off by a pair of blocks from Stahlke, to go up 15-7 and cause another Maverick timeout. Klein and Kern combined for a block at the net to cut the Golden Bear lead to six. Two consecutive service aces from Klein brought the score to 19-14 and resulted in a timeout call from the home bench. A solo block and a kill from Stahle put the Concordia up 23-15 and an attack error forced a match point. Despite a block from Durant and a kill from Loveall, CSP closed out the match with a 25-17 win in set four. The Golden Bears won the match, 3-1.
 
The Mavericks ended with 43 kills and a .149 hitting percentage in the match against Concordia. 42 of those kills were assisted on, the team served up nine service aces and had 70 digs and blocked five shots at the net.
 
Both Loveall and Richards had 10 kills in their final match in a Maverick uniform. Richards hit .290 and ended with two service aces and eight digs. Klein had nine kills, three aces, 10 digs and a block assist. Durant ended with seven kills, an ace and three blocks. Kern had six kills and two blocks.
 
Ellie Kline, Madisen Miller and Beesecker all finished with 14 digs a piece. Beesecker also had two critical aces for the Mavericks in the match. Senior setter Brooke Bolwerk had 37 assists and seven digs in the loss.
 
Schmidt for CSP ended with 19 kills, three aces, three blocks and 11 digs. Stahlke recorded 12 kills and eight total blocks for the Golden Bears.
 
"It was a battle and everything we expected," said Minnesota State head coach Corey Phelps. "They have nine banners and are the No. 8 team in the country for a reason. The difference about this team and this match was that all of the outside stuff did not matter to them. I love the grit and the heart we showed the whole match. This is a new day for Maverick volleyball and I could not be prouder."
 
Coach Phelps highlighted his seniors and how important those players are to the program; "They are the foundation for what we will build upon in years to come. They understand the importance of what great culture means to a program. They understand that being great people leads to a great culture. Minnesota State volleyball is here to stay and I couldn't be more excited."