Friday, December 5
7:30 p.m. - Gangelhoff Center - St. Paul, Minn.
#1 Concordia University (36-1) vs. #3 Grand Valley State (33-4)
CU 3-1; BOX SCORE

RECAP:
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Golden Bears of Concordia University (36-1) will play for their second consecutive NCAA Division II National Championship on Saturday evening, advancing out of the semifinals after taking a bitterly contested 3-1 win over #3 Grand Valley State (33-4) (25-20, 20-25, 25-17, 25-20).  The 2008 title match features #1-ranked Concordia and #2-ranked Cal State San Bernardino and will be served up at 7:00 pm at the Gangelhoff Center.

The 2008 championship match has added intensity as Cal State San Bernardino (30-3) is the only squad to defeat Concordia this season.  The win came in the Golden Bears' season opener.  Additionally, this is the first-ever national title appearance for a Cal State San Bernardino team.  Concordia University will be defending their 2007 national title on their home court, the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn.

The Golden Bears edged out the Lakers of Grand Valley State, taking advantage of passing miscues and also finishing slightly stronger on the defensive front.  With both squads swinging away, defense proved to be the "X" factor in the match.  The Golden Bears had 69 digs to 60 GVSU's 60 and finished with 56 kills to their opponent's 47.

The Lakers were the stronger team in the second set, pounding down kills through the Concordia block and flying around the back row to keep alive all possible balls.  The Golden Bears came back in the final two sets, challenging the Lakers in close rallies and tight games.

Freshman Ellie Duffy pounded down 16 kills to top Concordia's offense.  Sadie Kessler had another strong night with 13 kills and also eight digs.  Emily Palkert pitched in with ten kills.  Maggie McNamara solidified the offense with assists on 53 of the squad's 56 kills.  She also had 14 digs.  The incredible defensive push was led by Mary Slinger with 20 digs.  Whitney Meierotto had 17 digs. 

Whitney Tremain and Rebeccah Rapin found the most success for the Grand Valley offense with 14 kills each.  Rapin had four block assists, as did Katey Crichton.  Jamie Ashmore, a senior setter, had 40 assists and nine digs.  Meredith Young led the Lakers with 16 digs.

Grand Valley Match Notes: 10th NCAA Appearance ... 28-9 all-time in NCAA Tournament ... fifth appearance in the National semifinal - first since 2005 ... Winner of 30 of last 32 matches ... eight match win streak snapped … senior class finished with a 125-18 record and made three trips to the national quarterfinals.

Concordia Match Notes: This is Concordia's sixth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance ... The Golden Bears have reached the regional championship match all six times ... This is their fourth trip to the Elite Eight and third time in the championship game ... They have reached the championship match all three times when playing in the semifinals ... Concordia finished second in 2003 and lost in the quarterfinals in 2005 before winning the NCAA title in 2007 ... The Golden Bears are 21-4 in NCAA Championship play and 7-2 in the Elite Eight ... They are 14-1 versus ranked opponents this season ... Concordia has won 36 consecutive matches after losing in the season opener at CSU-San Bernadino, their opponent in tomorrow's championship match ... The Golden Bears are 3-1 this season versus teams in the Elite Eight and 20-1 versus teams in the NCAA Championship field ... Concordia has played more matches against NCAA Championship qualifiers (21) than any team in the Championship field ... Concordia is 12-0 in four-set matches this season ... The Golden Bears have won all 19 of their matches at home this season ... Senior middle hitter Maria Steinhagen extended her streak of consecutive matches with a block to 25 ... She's recorded at least one block in 35 of 37 matches this season.

HOME QUOTES
Opening statement, head coach Deanne Scanlon:
“First of all, what a great team, what a great opponent we played.  They brought the best out of us.  What a great match.  I think from a fan point of view it had to be a fun match to watch.  We made too many errors, but our kids fought and played with a ton of energy.”

Scanlon commenting on adjustments in game two: “I think we went to the other side of the court.  I asked our players, “can we play with this team, and can we beat this team?”  Our players were right there with me believing they could beat Concordia.”

Scanlon commenting on 3rd set of match: “We did not pass the ball.  We lost our passing in game three and were out of system.  Both coaches would agree the team in system would win tonight and tonight that was Concordia.”

Scanlon commenting on her graduating seniors: “That’s the saddest thing for me right now.  This group of kids is really special. This is a group of kids that I’ve felt the most confident in.  They’ve done the most they could for this program.  They’re just good people.  They’re going to make an impact in the field they choose to go into.”

Scanlon commenting on 4th set: “Just look at the stat sheet with the three-straight points they scored.  That was the turning point of the match at 17 all.”

Sophomore middle blocker Rebecca Rapin:
Rebeccah Rapin commenting on her success as well as Whitney Tremain’s:  “Just swinging away.  I think that Whitney and I are momentum players and when the momentum gets rolling we get better.  Jamie did a great job of setting us one on one.”

Senior setter Jamie Ashmore:
Jamie Ashmore commenting playing against CU’s Maggie McNamara: “I think both setters are trying to get our hitters one on one.  I think in some cases it worked, but we were just trying to keep it fast and put the ball away.”

Ashmore commenting trying to out play McNamara:  “I play better when I’m up against competition like that.  I just did the best I could and I felt that I did.”

CONCORDIA QUOTES
Concordia head coach Brady Starkey comments:
Opening statement -- "What a great match, wow! I'm so proud of our girls for the way they battled. Grand Valley, pound-for-pound, is a more athletic team but we found ways to get the ball up and keep it in play."

On what was said after the second-set loss -- "We talked about be patient on the block. They get so high and we had to be patient and wait for them to move to attack. We talked about getting better touches on the ball to give our back row a chance to get to the ball."

On the changes after the second set -- "We served tougher in the third and fourth games. Getting back to serving tougher is really part of our game. In that second game, they were getting some free swings and we couldn't stop their momentum."

On how his team defended Danielle Alexander -- "We got to her early (with the block) and when we served tough, they couldn't get the ball to her in a good position. They seemed to pass the ball around when they were in system. When they were out of system, they threw the ball out to her and it's tough for her to hit in that situation because she's coming off one foot and we could get the double block to her."

On how much this means to the Concordia community -- "This is a much more emotional win for me knowing how much it means to our fans, our students, our staff and our administration, who have put some much into this season and this event. For us, it's sweet to get there for our administration because I know how much it means to them."

Concordia junior setter Maggie MacNamara comments:
On playing CSUSB again -- "We're very anxious to redeem ourselves. That first match of the year, they deserved to win. But we didn't play our best game."

On how much it helps her to have the hitters she has -- "I can get the ball to any of them and know that they can terminate. I can't really make a mistake with so many players to go to."

On preparing for Saturday's championship -- "I'll rest tonight, I'm a little tired. We're a very close team and we haven't had time to be cooped up together in a hotel. It hasn't been as important as last year becase we have a lot more talent this year."

Concordia freshman outside hitter Ellie Duffy comments:
On the difference between the season-opening match and now -- "We've progressed a lot and come together more. We're a different team than we were then."

On her contributions to a veteran team coming off the 2007 championship -- "It's been a lot of fun to get play. It's great to know I'm surrounded by so many All-Americans because I know I can go out and play and, if I make a mistake, there are so many great players around to pick me up."