The Briar Cliff women's volleyball team went toe-to-toe with one of the nation's best Saturday night, taking No.2 Concordia to five sets before falling in a hard-fought match (25-27, 23-25, 25-15, 28-26, 11-15) inside the Newman Flanagan Center.

The Chargers came out ready to compete, trading points with the Bulldogs throughout the opening frames. After dropping two close sets, Briar Cliff stormed back in the third with their most efficient offensive performance of the night, hitting .417 as Emma Brenelli and Brooklyn Voss sparked the rally at the net. The Chargers carried the momentum into the fourth set, fending off multiple match points to extend the contest. Concordia managed to edge out the fifth set to stay unbeaten in GPAC play.

Brenelli led the Chargers with 15 kills to go along with 6 block assists. Voss was also dominant at the net with 10 kills and 8 block assists, while Tamika Eastman added 9 kills on the night.

Setters Reese Strouth and Kylie Hart directed the offense with 25 and 20 assists, respectively. 

Senior libero Avery Beller anchored the defense once again, collecting a match-high 32 digs. Strouth followed her with 16 digs, and Hart collected 10. At the net, Aubrey Hoeft tallied 11 blocks on the night.

As a team, the Chargers totaled 19 blocks compared to the Bulldogs' 9.

The Chargers move to 8-11 overall and 2-6 in GPAC. They return to action Friday night, heading to Omaha, NE, to take on College of Saint Mary's. First Serve is set for 7:30 p.m.