st. Paul, minn. - 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.
"it's sweeter, more emotional (to be playing on our home court)," said concordia head coach brady starkey. "we know how much it means to our fan base, the students and the administration."
the golden bears played toe-to-toe with the lakers of grand valley state throughout friday evening's match. The difference-maker that turned the tide and gave the golden bears the advantage was their defense. Concordia, who has sailed through much of the season on the wings of their offense, saw an equally talented swinging team in gvsu and rose to the occasion to defend their turf.
“this year our offense has been so strong that it overshadowed our good defense,â€? explained starkey. €œthese matches show that our defense can get it done for us. We were forced to step up and play great defense.â€?
concordia held the lakers to a match low .031 hitting average in a critical third set, giving the home team a 2-1 advantage. The golden bears stopped grand valley with four blocks in the set, holding the lakers to only eight kills.
the momentum was temporary, however, as grand valley state made a match of it in the fourth and final set. The teams jockeyed for control, powering down kills and making incredible defensive stands. Tied up 18-18, the golden bears took the final lead following a string of four straight grand valley errors.
freshman outside hitter ellie duffy looked nothing like a rookie as she led the team with 16 kills in the first semifinal match of her career. When asked about how it feels to be able to contribute on such a talented squad, duffy replied, “when i step on the court, i know that i'm literally surrounded by all-americans. I know that no matter what happens, they will pick me up.�
junior rightside hitter sadie kessler had another strong night, downing 13 kills and also collecting eight digs. Sophomore middle hitter emily palkert also had double figures in kills with ten. The hands behind the kills were those of junior setter maggie mcnamara. The three-time all-american and national player of the year dished assists on 53 of the team's 56 kills on the night and also picked up 14 digs.
senior maria steinhagen played a key role in holding back the key laker swingers, picking up five block assists in the match and moving into sole possession of second place on the cu all-time blocking list (433). Duffy tied a career high with four block assists. Concordia was held to a .235 hitting percentage on the night, down from their season average of .305.
whitney tremain and rebeccah rapin each led the lakers with 14 kills. Rapin matched katey crichton with a team high four block assists. Meredith young bolstered the grand valley defense with 16 digs. The team hit .189 on the night with 47 kills. They had 60 digs and six blocks.
