ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia University senior Sadie Kessler (Volleyball) had a dominant effort to lead her two-time defending National Champion volleyball team to a third consecutive NCAA Central Region Championship while sophomore Brent Barz (Basketball) led the Golden Bear men's basketball team to a win in their season opener. The pair of talented athletes both earn their first career CU Male and Female Athlete of the Week honor.

Senior rightside hitter Sadie Kessler (St. Michael, Minn.) was the leading force in the Golden Bears winning their third straight Central Region Volleyball Championship.   The senior averaged 4.00 kills per set and only committed ONE TOTAL HITTING ERROR throughout the Central Region Tournament in three matches. She led the squad in wins over Colorado Mines, #17 Wayne State and #20 Metro State, putting down 36 kills in 61 attempts for a .574 hitting average.  Kessler also averaged 1.00 assists per set and 1.78 digs per set for her Golden Bears.  Her weekend’s play bumped her season hitting average up to .393, one of the best marks in DII play this year.

Sophomore post Brent Barz (Johnston, Iowa) made his debut as a Golden Bear with a double-double, scoring 11 points while collecting 12 rebounds. Three of his boards came on the offensive glass as his leadership down low allowed Concordia to dominate the rebound margin by 12 (44-32) in a 25 point win over Wisconsin Parkside (84-59). From the floor, Barz shot 5-10 and also added a blocked shot in 26 minutes to help the team start off the year with a victory.