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ST. PAUL, Minn. - It was a season that was best described simply as "magical." Nobody could have predicted the utter dominance of the 2009 Concordia University volleyball team. 37-0 on the season with 32 matches being claimed in 3-0 decisions, the Golden Bears won their third straight NCAA Division II National Championship. Not even head coach Brady Starkey, who has put together a 240-20 career record with CU, thought things would pan out like as they did.
When asked how CU achieved the perfect season, Starkey again credited his players, "They are the ones that play hard every night and that's how we practice every day. I don't think its us, you should be asking our players, it’s their secret."
The secret is held within a group of athletes who has built Concordia into a volleyball dynasty. Winning a 7th straight Northern Sun Championship and becoming the first program in the history of Division I or II volleyball to three-peat as National Champions, this group of student-athletes built a force on the court that has been untouchable.
“We practice so competitively, even more than in matches. Everyone is so talented that we get the benefits of trying to beat the best players on a day-to-day basis,” said 3-time NSIC Libero of the Year and CU’s new career digs leader, Mary Slinger.
Having an arsenal of All-Americans certainly helps the cause. For the second straight year, Concordia University put five players on the AVCA All-America roster, Maggie McNamara, Mary Slinger and Emily Palkert on the First Team and Sadie Kessler and Megan Carlson on the Second Team.
The season’s awards were headlined by senior setter McNamara, the most decorated player in CU history. A 4-time All-American and 2-time NSIC Player of the Year, McNamara was named the AVCA Division II Player of the Year for the second straight season. She finished her days at CU by becoming the NCAA’s all-time assists leader with 7,351 assists. McNamara led the NCAA in assists every year of her collegiate career.
“We have five hitters who can terminate the ball at will, all I have to do is read the defense and know who’s on,” said McNamara of her teammates.
Terminating the ball is where the Golden Bears made the most noise this season. CU led the nation in kills per set (15.36) and was second with a .317 hitting percentage. They led their opponents in kills in 36 of 37 matches and had an edge in hitting average in every match of the season. Junior middle hitter Emily Palkert was CU’s leading hitter with 415 kills and a .339 hitting average, followed by sophomore outside Megan Carlson with 409 kills. Sadie Kessler had a standout senior season on the rightside, finishing with 377 kills and a .379 average, which ranked 14th in the nation. Freshman Cassie Haag filled a large hole as a starting middle hitter and filled it well, puting down 299 kills and leading the team with a .393 hitting average, 9th in the NCAA.
While Concordia threatened opponents’ physical safety will unbelievable hitting, their defense is what pulled them through the final rounds of the season. The Golden Bears were forced to go to their traditional strength in the postseason. Senior Mary Slinger easily stood out as the best libero in the nation with her outstanding tournament play. The only libero on the All-American First Team, Slinger was constantly anticipating her opponents and flawlessly picking up dig after dig, putting balls on target that, on any other defense would often to untouched. She became the school’s new all-time digs leader with 2,349 in her career.
Slinger joined forces with Carlson and Taylor Fieldsted on serve receive to put up a season .963 receiving average. Concordia served the ball tough, in return, putting up three times as many aces as its opponents, also meaning that CU committed 67% fewer receiving errors. Kessler spun out 44 aces on the season, while five players had 20 or more aces.
The Golden Bears went into the 2009 season knowing that they had plenty of talent remaining from the championship year of 2008, but also knew that they would have to rely on newcomers to completely fill the voids of lost players. It took only a week or two to validate the team’s #1 ranking and prove to a watchful fan base that 2009 would be filled with just as much excitement as in the past.
Concordia rolled through five top-25 ranked teams in the opening weeks of the year, giving up just two sets in eight matches. Their questions about the gap left from 2008 graduate Whitney Meierotto were quickly answered by Carlson, who transferred to CU from DI Marshall University. Carlson put up double-doubles in kills and digs in the first three and six of the first eight matches of the year, putting that question to rest.
The other main concern of weakness was in the middle position opposite of Palkert where Maria Steinhagen once ran the floor. The CU coaching staff tried a variety of options before handing the starting role to Cassie Haag, who was a regular starter from mid-September through the season finale. Haag’s growth her first season seemed boundless as she learned the system and accepted a role as another tireless worker and CU middle hitter. She finished the year reaching double figure kills in eight of the final 10 matches and was the team’s leading player in the Elite Eight, averaging 3.7 kills per set with a .484 hitting average and blowing away opponents with 1.6 blocks per set.
Concordia began the year as they usually do, travelling across the country to meet up with top opponents. Their first action of the season was in Florida, where they took down two ranked teams and walked away with a 4-0 record. Next up was a trip to Colorado for one of the strongest tournaments in the nation. The Golden Bears downed another three ranked teams, setting their opening record at 8-0 with five wins over ranked teams.
The hot start was a great confidence booster for the team, but not exactly what head coach Brady Starkey had in mind. “We scheduled it tough in the beginning of the season to try to get them picked off, but they (the players) had something else in mind.”
After the difficult non-conference schedule, CU was nearly relieved to start play in the NSIC, arguably best conference in the nation. But the Golden Bears breezed through their NSIC schedule, picking up speed with a quick win over #14 Southwest Minnesota State early on and then annihilating #10 Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 10. Their biggest rival for years, Concordia set a new school record for fewest points allowed as they swallowed up the Bulldogs 25-5 in the final set of the 3-0 win. 20 matches into the league schedule, the Golden Bears walked away with their 7th straight NSIC Championship and 5th undefeated (20-0) league standing in seven years.
With a 31-0 record in tow, the Golden Bears hosted the Central Region Tournament Nov. 19-21. They took Colorado Mines, #17 Wayne State and #20 Metro State each in 3-0 wins and looked ahead to the Elite Eight, Dec. 3-5.
Gaining home court advantage with the right to host the tournament again in 2009, the Golden Bears played in front of a full house of energetic fans. The atmosphere was great and the table was set for the three-peat.
#9 Indianapolis was CU’s first victim. With a firm edge both offensively and defensively, CU sent the Greyhounds packing, 3-0.
Next up was the most anticipated match of the season, a rematch with #2 Cal State San Bernardino. The only team to take a win against CU in the past two seasons, the Coyotes were geared up for the meeting and took a swift first set win. The Golden Bears responded with a quick 6-0 run in the second set and turned to freshman Cassie Haag to turn the momentum back in their favor. From then on, Concordia’s defense was put on display and CU was able to stymie CSUSB. Concordia put up 13 blocks and had 62 digs in the 3-1 win.
The final test for Concordia’s magical season was the National Championship match against #5 West Texas A&M. The Lady Buffs displayed a defense that held CU to a season low .174 hitting average, but with Concordia’s own defense firing on all cylinders, the match was over in three swift sets, 25-18, 25-18, 25-16. Haag tallied 13 kills with a .417 average and four blocks in the title match.
The Golden Bears take their 74 match winning streak into the postseason, where they will have to figure out how to maintain their dominance with the loss of their three seniors. Maggie McNamara, Mary Slinger and Sadie Kessler were leading role-players in CU’s three National Championships and their dedication to the Golden Bear program will be remembered for years to come.
