box score - Concordia 3, Western Wash. 1

TOPEKA, Kan. - The second-ranked Concordia University volleyball team won their first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship, defeating #15 Western Washington in four games, 30-26, 23-30, 30-19, 31-29 at Lee Arena on the campus of Washburn University. Concordia stopped the Vikings' streak of 21 consecutive wins, as the Golden Bears close the year on a six match win streak.

The championship is also the first-ever Division II title for Concordia University in any sport. The Golden Bears have been a member of NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun since the 1999-2000 season. It is the first NCAA volleyball championship for the Northern Sun and the second team championship (Winona State, men's basketball, 2005-06).

"If you like volleyball or if you have never seen a match you could really appreciate tonight's match," Concordia head coach Brady Starkey commented. "Hats-off to Western Washington, they are an incredibly good and consistent team that gave us fits all night - the entire match."

Junior Maria Steinhagen (Alexandria, Minn.) and sophomore Maggie McNamara (Zumbrota, Minn.) were in-sync all night. Steinhagen delivered 26 kills and hit .500 in 46 attempts while McNamara registered a double-double with 71 assists and 17 digs. The duo also dominated the net, with McNamara posting six blocks and Steinhagen adding five.

Steinhagen was asked about her game three effort, posting 10 kills in a lopsided 30-19 decision. "I saw what was working. If I went in hard every time, it seemed to be working. Maggie gave great sets and the passing was great."

Western Washington head coach Diane Flick offered her insight on Steinhagen's dominant third game, "Number nine, steinhagen, 26 kills and hit .500 - that's a buzzsaw running right down the middle at you. We couldn't slow their momentum in the middle."

Concordia never trailed in the opening game, only allowing three ties at 2-2, 12-12 and 13-13. They were leading 28-20 but WWU closed the gap late before Steinhagen drilled a kill to clinch the opening game.

Western Washington came out strong in the second game, which had just one tie and one lead change as the Vikings put forth a dominating effort to tie the match at one. WWU took off to a quick 13-5 lead, forcing a CU timeout. The Golden Bears would cut the score to 17-13 and 24-20, but the Vikings carried their momentum through the second game in a 30-23 win.

Then Steinhagen stole the show, and the momentum was completely turned back over to the Golden Bears. The Vikings fought hard to stay in the game, however, as they cut an 11-5 lead to 11-10 with a five point rally.

Starkey's squad persisted, however, and pushed the lead back to 21-16 and scored eight of the final ten points in the game with Steinhagen providing five of those kills.

"This is a unique group of girls," Starkey continued. "This group learned that they would give up some rounds of points. But they always fought back to get their own rounds of points back in response. By this point of the season, we are to the point where we don't allow teams to keep pushing through those initial scoring bursts and we've been able to limit opposing runs."

Game four proved to be intense as the Vikings forced Concordia to earn every point on their way to the championship, with 17 ties and eight lead changes. The Vikings even had the Golden Bears at game point, 29-28, on the verge of forcing a fifth and deciding game.

But an attack error by WWU's Jaime Anderson allowed junior Whitney Meierotto (Washburn, Wis.) to put a kill down, giving Concordia a 30-29 lead which set up a kill by freshman Emily Palkert (Excelsior, Minn.).

"I'm proud of our girls for fighting the whole match," said Starkey. He added, "It was a war of attrition between two teams that played great defense. It's our kind of game and their kind of game."

The defense Starkey eluded to was led by sophomore libero Mary Slinger (Faribault, Minn.) with 35 digs. Concordia used 109 digs to Western Washington's 91 to continuously extend points. Meierotto had 25 digs and another double-double, along with McNamara's 17 digs while freshman Rachel Knutsen (St. Michael, Minn.) added 12 with freshman Krista Erickson (Andover, Minn.) adding nine.

Once again, Concordia's five hitters all contributed, four reaching double-figures and another, sophomore Sadie Kessler (St. Michael, Minn.), recording nine. Joining Steinhagen with at least 10 kills were senior Kate Bennett (Eagan, Minn.) with 18, Palkert with 15 and Meierotto with 11.

Concordia's offense totalled 82 kills to WWU's 61. Concordia hit .269 as a team in 208 attempts while Western Washington hit .217, committing only 17 errors in 203 attempts.

"Concordia plays a frustrating defense that makes you either want to pull your hair out or let it go grey," said coach Flick.

The Vikings were led by Emily Castro, who had 19 kills and 15 digs while Angie Alvord contributed 16 kills and hit .342 with Tiana Roma adding 12 kills and a .379 attack pct.

Castro commented on the team's run of 21 straight wins coming to a close in the national championship match, "I think we have a great team this year, we've been working together for two years now. Our chemistry on and off the court helped our streak, we played great and I'm so proud of how far we got."

The Western Washington defense was led by the nation's most prolific libero, Courtney Schneider, who had a match-high 36 digs for the Vikings.

Although the Golden Bears season comes to a close, there is one more chance to see the 2007 NCAA Division II volleyball champions on the court, as there will be a reception held for the squad on Monday, December 3 at 12 p.m. at the Gangelhoff Center. All fans are welcome to attend, check back for updates on the event.

"This means a lot to me because of these girls," said Starkey. "This ends up being the ultimate because we get to be around each other for so long. To me, that's the reward."

2007 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball
National Championship
November 29 - December 1
Lee Arena; Topeka, Kansas
Washburn University host

All-Tournament Team
Rebecca Rapin, MH, Grand Valley State
Melissa Harper, MH, West Texas A&M
Emily Palkert, MH, Concordia-St. Paul
Angie Alvord, MH, Western Washington
Maria Steinhagen, MH, Concordia-St. Paul
Katelen Dixon, OH, Tampa
Jamie Anderson, OH, Western Washington
Tessa Jones, RS, Washburn
Katie Robinson, S, Western Washington
Maggie McNamara, S, Concordia-St. Paul
Courtney Schneider, L, Western Washington
Mary Slinger, L, Concordia-St. Paul