BISMARCK, N.D. – The Marauders had their hands full tonight against the defending national champions. U-Mary could not find an answer for the Golden Bears as #3 Concordia-St. Paul swept the Marauders in three sets.
 
U-Mary was down 6-0 early in the first set after a couple blocks and kills from Concordia. The Marauders fought back to narrow the gap at 9-7 but the Golden Bears methodically kept the pace up and stretched the lead back out to 16-8. From there, Concordia outscored U-Mary 9-3 en route to a 25-11 victory.
 
The Marauders tightened up their defense and kept the score close at a 9-8 deficit midway through the second set. Yet the Golden Bears would pump out attack after attack, overwhelming U-Mary. Concordia cruised to another 25-13 victory to put the Marauders down 2-0 on the match.
 
U-Mary looked to build some momentum in the third set but the Golden Bears would not allow it as they opened up the set 9-2. The Marauders fought back and reduced the margin at 12-8, but that was the closest U-Mary would get. Concordia kept the pace up and eventually put the Marauders away 25-12.
 
Despite the loss, the Marauders moved the ball around quite a bit. Eight different players earned at least one kill. Both Lauren Boldt and Allison Adams registered four kills for U-Mary. Boldt added one dig and one block assist, while Adams added one dig and one block assist as well. Paige Smith, Lauren Randall, and Rachel Astrup were next on the list with three kills apiece. Smith also finished with one dig, Randall talled one assist, one ace and five digs to her total, and Astrup added two digs.
 
Janell Finkbeiner directed the offense tonight as she finished with 10 assists and three digs. Alex Brown kept up her defensive pace with nine digs, added two assists, and also a kill.
 
The Marauders (3-11, 0-5 NSIC) will stay in Bismarck at Century High School on Saturday, September 27, to take on the Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks.