the #3 ranked and top seeded concordia university (35-2) volleyball team cruised past no. 8 seed northern state (17-14) in the ncaa north central region quarterfinals with a 30-24, 30-19, 30-14 victory thursday evening at the gangelhoff center in st. Paul, minn.

the win for concordia will pit them against the no. 4 seed, #20 wayne state college in a rematch of the nsic tournament championship that was played last saturday evening. Concordia won that match in four games.

concordia also extends the fourth-longest conference winning streak in ncaa division ii history to 63 matches (against all opponents). Their current win streak stands at 19 matches on the season and their home winning streak is stretched to 28 matches, dating back to the last match of 2004.

senior ashley olson led the bears attack with a match-high 13 kills. She racked up her sixth double-double of the season with 16 digs.

olson wasn't the only golden bear to achieve a double-double as senior jessica lucia poured in 12 kills and matched olson's 16 digs to record her 20th double-double. Lucia also became the first player in school history to record at least 1,500 career kills and 1,500 career digs and she is just nine kills shy of tying the school kill record that she set last season (612).

lucia wasn't the only record-breaker as freshman setter maggie mcnamara nabbed her second school record. Her 49 assists in the match give her a single-season school record of 1,864. The nation's leader in assists per game is on pace to set the ncaa division ii record for assists per game, currently she averages 15.15 per game.

the bears had three players with 16 digs as senior libero megan graham matched olson and lucia's dig total. Ma.mcnamara and freshman mary slinger each pitched in on the defensive end with eight digs.

at the net, concordia had one of their finest blocking performances of the season with 14 blocks compared to northern state's 7.0. Sophomore maria steinhagen had a match-high seven blocks while senior kelsey kyro had six and junior monica mcnamara had five. Kyro also had 12 kills in the contest while steinhagen added nine.

as a whole, the concordia defense shut down the wolves attack, holding them to a paltry .036 hitting pct. For the match including negative pct. In games two and three (-.071 and -.023, respectively).

northern state was led by odemaris diaz who had a team-high 10 kills and three blocks (one solo). Nsu setter kellie heier logged a double-double with 24 assists and 13 digs while libero melanie perez etched in 10 digs.

the golden bears will face the wildcats tomorrow evening at 7:30 at the gangelhoff center for the fourth time this season, with concordia taking the first three meetings.

quotes:

concordia university
head coach brady starkey:
"the girls played really consistent, had good ball control, played good defense and served really tough."

in response to how the match was different than last week: "you are done if you lose here (in the ncaa regional). Not to cheapen the nsic tournament, but the girls felt more fired up when they took the court."

in response to jessica lucia and maggie mcnamara's achievements: "it's awesome to have had all of the seniors for four years. They are both great achievements and testaments to the team. It shows how we've been able to rebolster the lineup and that maggie wouldn't be able to do what she's done without the help the seniors and the rest of the team."

"i'm very excited for wayne state tomorrow night."

"if someone beats us, they have earned it."

jessica lucia (sr., rs, plymouth, mn):
in response to her 1,500 kills/1,500 digs: "i couldn't have done any of this without my teammates and my coaches."

"i just want to win."

ashley olson (sr., oh, circle pines, mn):
"we aren't going down without a fight."

in response to wayne state feeling at home at the gangelhoff center: "this is our home."

northern state
head coach lisa schriver:
in response to the difference between their last meeting with concordia that was a close three game match: "i think (kelsey) kyro playing made a big difference. They just took it to a different level and we played overwhelmed. Concordia is more experienced at regionals and they just stepped it up to another level."

kellie heier (sr., s, aberdeen, s.d.)
in response to playing at a ncaa regional event: "it was awesome that we made the regional. It was a little different than last week at the nsic tournament, but we are used to playing here, we feel like this is our home court having played here so much lately. But i am glad we made it this far, it was a great experience and i am happy to be a part of this team."

odemaris diaz (sr., oh/mh, vega also, puerto rico)
talk about the experience you have had at northern state the past two years: "it has been a great experience. I have wanted all my life to compete in the ncaa tournament. It has been great to be a part of this team, and it feels good to know that i was able to contribute and help the team get as far as we did the last two years."