ST. PAUL, MINN.:  In a match-up of two top-five teams, No. 1 Concordia University, St. Paul used a 64-37 kill advantage to snap No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State's eight-match winning streak and hand the Mustangs their second conference loss of the season Saturday afternoon in St. Paul, Minn.  SMSU managed to take the nation's top team to four sets, falling 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-12).

CU improves to 23-1 (12-0, NSIC), while SMSU drops to 21-3 (10-2, NSIC).

Laura Hegerle was the lone Mustang hitter to reach double digits in kills, terminating a team-high 11 balls.  Devin Diedrich finished the afternoon with nine kills.

Playing libero for the second straight match, Brittany Wenzel anchored SMSU's defensive effort with 13 digs.  Sara Graf, directing an offense that was forced to deal with great blocking by CU all afternoon, finished the match with 28 assists.

Opening the match on a 5-0 run, SMSU looked sharp enough to hand the Golden Bears something they have only received once this season in conference play--a set loss.  A fired-up Mustang squad calmed CU's usually explosive hitting attack and held the Golden Bears to a .093 hitting percentage. A  Hegerle attack at 24-20 grazed a CU defender at the net, and SMSU found itself in control 1-0.

But the No. 1-ranked team in the country was not about to go down without a fight.  Putting their slow start behind them, the Golden Bears regrouped their hitters and shelled out 18 kills on 39 attacks with just three errors for a more recognizable .385 hitting percentage in the second set.  The offensive burst by CU gained it the decisive set lead.

After an 8-8 tie emerged in the third set, the Golden Bears took hold of a small lead and refused to let go.  SMSU managed to close the gap to three, but more strong hitting by the Golden Bears went unanswered.

Suffocating blocking by the Golden Bears in the fourth and final set became the difference maker.  SMSU struggled to get a ball over the net, and the blocking by CU kept the Mustangs' offense out of system throughout.

Four Golden Bear spikers had at least ten kills, while Maggie McNamara finished with a match-high 55 assists.

SMSU returns home next weekend to take on two top-25 teams in conference matches.  The Mustangs meet up with No. 22 Augustana (S.D.) on Friday and No. 25 Wayne State (Neb.) on Saturday.