Junior Jessica Lucia's 15 kills and .483 attack percentage set the tone as the top-seeded and #2-ranked Concordia University Golden Bears swept the fourth-seeded Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs, 30-16, 30-22, 30-18 in the NCAA North Central Regional Tournament semifinals at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Lucia's 15 kills came in 29 attacks with just one error. She added four assists and six digs in the match. Senior setter Cailin Terhaar had an all-around performance as she led a Concordia attack that hit .396 as a team with 38 assists. Terhaar also recorded four kills in six attacks (.667 pct.), nine digs, and four blocks. Senior Valerie Olson contributed 11 kills and hit .375 for the match.
The Concordia defense held the Mustangs to a .128 team attack pct. and was led by junior libero Megan Graham's 14 digs and senior defensive specialist Danielle Niehls' 13 digs.
The Mustangs had just one player reach double-digit kills--Erin Contons with 13. Contons was the only player in the match to record a double-double, as she also added 11 digs.
The Golden Bears advance to their third consecutive NCAA North Central Regional Tournament championship match, where they will take on the second-seeded and fifth-ranked Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs at the Gangelhoff Center at 7:30 p.m. This marks a rematch of last year's regional championship that the Bulldogs won in four games.
Quotes from the match:
Southwest Minnesota State head coach Terry Culhane
"Give Concordia a lot of credit, they never let us get into our rhythm. They played hard as a team."
On his season (26-8 overall)..."Four losses were to Concordia. We haven't been beat by a bad team. We did some positive things, and we are still relatively young. We will learn from this for next year."
Southwest Minnesota State outside hitter Erin Contons
On being a sophomore go-to player..."It is hard, but it just comes naturally to take on that role without actually being labeled as a captain."
Concordia University head coach Brady Starkey
"We played really aggressive and really well. It has been our motto all year."
"We always look for our x-factors in the game. Everyone knows that Val (Olson), (Jessica) Lucia, and Cailin (Terhaar) are going to play their games consistently. Mon (Monica McNamara), Dee (Danielle Niehls), and (Ashley) Olson are the x-factors in the match. Dee always gets the big digs, and she is one of the best defensive specialists in the nation."
On danielle niehls..."She is a machine; it was what we have come to expect from her."
Concordia University setter Cailin Terhaar
"I'm really excited, and we all have a really good feeling about this weekend. We are playing to win and to go for it all."
Concordia University right side Jessica Lucia
On Minnesota Duluth... "We are ready for revenge on the way that UMD ended our season last season (in the regional finals). We will bring it, and so will they. It is going to be a great match."
