st. Paul, minn. - concordia university's volleyball team (8-1) took a 3-0 win in their 2008 home opener against central washington university (7-2), 25-18, 25-14, 25-. The match was cu's first of the weekend at their 2nd annual cu radisson-roseville tournament. whitney meierotto led the golden bears with 18 kills and eight digs.

the golden bears and wildcats both swung hard for kills, but concordia's defense out-played central washington's for the edge in the match. The defensive push held the wildcats to .186 hitting with just 28 kills. Concordia, on the other hand, hit .354 with 54 kills.

meierotto contributed both offensively and defensively, putting down 18 kills with just four errors for a .400 hitting average. emily palkert had a similar offensive appearance with 14 kills and a .440 average. Both meierotto and maria steinhagen had three block assists as the team posted six total blocks. mary slinger had 20 of the team's 56 digs and maria steinhagen added 47 assists to her season total.

rachael schurman was the leading hitter for the wildcats with nine kills and a .389 hitting mark. The top defender was kayla roof with 12 digs. Cwu had four team blocks.

the golden bears continue play at the tournament with the headliner match against #5 truman state at 7:30 friday evening.