Saturday, December 6
7:00 p.m. - Gangelhoff Center - St. Paul, Minn.
#1 Concordia University, St. Paul vs. #2 CSU San Bernardino
CU 3, CSU San Bernardino 2: BOX SCORE
RECAP:
ST. PAUL, Minn. - #1 Concordia University (37-1) repeats as NCAA Division II Volleyball Champions with a 3-2 marathon win over #2 Cal State San Bernardino (30-4). The Golden Bears revenged a season opener loss against the Coyotes to win the title, taking the match 23-25, 25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 15-13.
Concordia University dropped the match-opening set but rebounded with an incredible defensive showing to go up two games to one. They held on in the fifth set, rallying from an 11-13 deficit to take the next four points and the national title. Junior rightside hitter Sadie Kessler put down the final kill to send the crowd of 1,537 into an uproar.
The teams had similarly aggressive offenses and played tight throughout the evening. The difference in the match came down to just a few errors made in the final points of the sets.
"It was an epic battle. It came down to a point here, a point there," said Concordia head coach Brady Starkey. "I'm so proud of how hard this team fights. You can't train that."
All five of Concordia's hitters finished the match in double figures for kills. Kessler topped the list with 17, followed by Whitney Meierotto with 16 and Maria Steinhagen, Emily Palkert and Ellie Duffy with 14 each. Maggie McNamara had a season high 70 assists while the Golden Bears put down 75 kills in the match. Keeping the team in the match defensively was junior Mary Slinger with 20 digs. Meierotto and Kessler each completed double-doubles with 13 and 12 digs each, respectively.
Concordia had 12 blocks in the match, including several that changed the momentum of the match and gave the Golden Bears the edge for victory. Palkert had six block assists while Steinhagen had three solo stops and two assists. Steinhagen and Meierotto posted back-to-back solo blocks to put Concordia up 14-13 in the fifth and deciding set.
The Golden Bears hit at a .287 average with 75 kills on the evening. They marked 73 digs and 12 blocks.
Jessica Granados had 20 kills and seven digs for the Coyotes. Sara Rice followed with 14 kills. Samantha Middleborn had 13 kills and a team high four block assists. The Coyotes hit .230 on the evening with 63 kills. They had 63 digs and nine blocks.
NCAA All-Tournament Team
S, Maggie McNamara, Concordia University
L, Mary Slinger, Concordia University
Opp, Sadie Kessler, Concordia University
MH, Maria Steinhagen, Concordia University
OH, Ellie Duffy, Concordia University
OH, Whitney Meierotto, Concordia University
OPP, Jessica Granados, Cal State San Bernardino
MH, Sara Rice, Cal State San Bernardino
S, Sara Hoffman, Cal State San Bernardino
L, Megan Haas, Cal State San Bernardino
OH, Jane Chafen, Cal State San Bernardino
OH, Eli Medina, Truman State
Home Match Notes: Concordia becomes the fourth team in NCAA Division II volleyball history to repeat as national champions…they are the first team since Northern Michigan (1993-94) to repeat…CU finishes season with a 37-1 record…the 37 wins is a school record…This is Concordia's sixth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance ... 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 22-4 in NCAA Championship play and 8-2 in the Elite Eight ... They are 15-1 versus ranked opponents this season ... Concordia has won 37 consecutive matches after losing in the season opener at CSU-San Bernadino, their opponent in tonight’s championship match ... The Golden Bears are 4-1 this season versus teams in the Elite Eight and 21-1 versus teams in the NCAA Championship field ... Concordia has played more matches against NCAA Championship qualifiers (22) than any team in the Championship field ... Concordia is 2-0 in five-set matches this season ... The Golden Bears have won all 20 of their matches at home this season ... Senior middle hitter Maria Steinhagen extended her streak of consecutive matches with a block to 26 ... She's recorded at least one block in 36 of 38 matches this season…attendance for championship match, 1,539, a Concordia volleyball record.
Visitor Match Notes: Cal State San Bernardino finishes the season 30-4 overall ... they won their first-ever national semifinal game ... the appearance in the title game is the first in CSUSB volleyball history and the second time for any CSUSB sport.
Press Conference:
HOME QUOTES
Opening statement, head coach Brady Starkey:
Opening Statement: ““First off, congrats to CSUSB, incredible season for them. Wow, I don’t even know what to say. It was an epic battle, anything you could ask for in a volleyball match.”
On if he feels team is a dynasty: “I don’t know. It’s not something we think about. We have a good program; we have great kids that work hard. If that makes us a dynasty then I guess so.”
Commenting on winning title at home: “It was unbelievable, it was electric. That’s the biggest crowd we’ve ever had in this gym. It was awesome. Fortunately it was at home.”
On what it took to defeat CSUSB: “A lot of luck. It came down to a point here and a point there. It wasn’t the calmest or smoothest we’ve played all year, but we fought. I have loved for the past two years for how much these kids fight. Hats off to them, they’re fighters.”
Junior setter, Maggie McNamara:
Commenting on Whitney Meierotto’s block of Sara Rice late in game five: “It was huge. It energized the crowd. Blocking their go-to girl was so key. It couldn’t have been any bigger.”
On playing a five-game match for second time this season: “We’ve had only one other five-gamer this season. We practice those games all year. It was fun. We stayed aggressive. You can’t dwell on the score, you just have to play.”
Senior middle hitter, Maria Steinhagen:
Commenting on possibly losing when down in game five: “The thought did come in my mind that they only need two more points, but instead of it being a bad thing, it fired me up. When Whitney got that block it was the best thing ever. I didn’t know how to celebrate that. I have so much confidence in our team, I know we can pull together and win it.”
Commenting on being down: “It was such a close game. We didn’t feel we played our best. We knew if we could play our style of game, I think we all believed we could do it.”
On winning two national championships in a row: “It feels as close to perfect as it could get. We remember how it felt last year, everyone at Concordia and the community came together to support us. This season we had to find new ways to get excited. We had to find ways to win and have that goal in mind.”
Junior rightside hitter, Sadie Kessler:
On the difference in playing CSUSB from first match of the season to today: “I don’t know if they did a lot of things differently, but we did. We progressed over the year.”
On hitting the game-winning kill: “It felt so good. I don’t even know how to explain it. I was yelling for the ball, I wanted it so bad. Seeing it hit the floor felt so good.”
On winning two national championships in a row: “We realized what it would take to win it again. We kept reminding us what to do, to get through little struggles.”
VISITING QUOTES
Opening statement, head coach Kim Cherniss:
Opening Statement: "I want to congratulate Concordia University on their repeat championships.
It's fantastic for the community. The fans' support and student body support was great for them.
I'd also like to say that the best two teams in the country were playing tonight. We represented DII and our institutions really well. Sometimes people minimize the level of play at DII. How dynamic, fundamental and skilled this match was."
About the match: "Our team never stopped fighting or adjusting or counter-acting each other.
This was a well-played chess match. I was engrossed in the match from the first serve to the last serve. It was
an awesome match and so much fun to be a part of."
On what it means to play in the title game: "I've said this again and again. The reason why it means so much to us, we literally have to win tough matches to get here. It's so hard to get out of our region to get here at the NCAA's. It's so precious to have gotten here and to have maximized this experience. We are very appreciative to be here."
On coming back in the fourth set after being down 2-1: "We had some situations
in a couple of our rotations where Concordia went on big runs. We got stuck in weak rotations. Concordia came out and served tough and got us out of system. Mary slinger and Whitney Meierotto did a great job of serve receive tonight. Those two did their jobs and kept Concordia in system. They did a great job."
Senior Rightside Hitter, Jessica Granados:
On the intensity of the final set: "So intense is what it was. It was the fifth set of the national championship.
It doesn't get better than that. It's a short set, we played our best and Concordia just pulled it out in the end."
Senior Middle Hitter, Sara Rice:
On who was favored in this match, with Concordia ranked #1 and CSUSB defeating them in the season opener: ""We never were intimidated ... and never were cocky or assumed we were going to win. We knew it was going to be tough. It was, and we never let down and weren't scared. This was definitely different from the season opening match against Concordia."
