st. Paul, minn. - the #1 golden bear volleyball team has reached the pinnacle of their season, a shot to three-peat as division ii national champions!! they play in the ncaa title match against #5 west texas am (39-3) on saturday at 7:30 pm. A full house is expected at the gangelhoff center in st. Paul as the golden bears aim to cap an undefeated season, currently 36-0 on the year with an ncaa record 73 match win streak. The championship match is a rematch of the 2007 national semifinals, which cu claimed en route to their first championship. box score
the golden bears earned the trip to the title bout after coming out victorious in the most anticipated match of the season, taking on #2 cal state san bernardino in the tournament semifinals. A repeat of the thrilling 2008 national championship match, the coyotes are the last team to have beaten the golden bears, taking a win in the 2008 season opener.
the tension ran high in the gangelhoff center, which was packed with 1,378 rowdy fans who got behind their team after the coyotes took the first set. San bernardino came out firing on all cylinders and dominated the first set of play. They hit at a .367 average and held cu to .143 hitting, giving the golden bears a rare 20-25 loss.
concordia regrouped from the loss and picked up a swift 6-0 lead in the second set. They kept firing away, allowing freshman cassie
haag
(mb, plymouth, minn.) to turn the momentum back in their favor. The rookie middle hitter put up five kills and three blocks to guide her team to a 25-18 to tie the match up one set each.
the golden bears largely controlled the remainder of the match, dominating the net play to stifle coyote hitters and getting their groove back on offense. Csusb made a number of runs, showing heart especially late in the sets to challenge cu, but a variety of uncharacteristic flaws on the coyote side spelled out the win for cu.
blocking was a crucial part of concordia's ability to turn the match around following the first set loss. The team marked a season high 13 blocks, which was just a small portion of the number of touches they got on the coyote hitters. Haag put up nine blocks in the match.
concordia hitters warmed up to the task at hand as well. Showing their balance just as they have all season, cu had four hitter finish in double figures for kills. Haag and senior sadie kessler (rs, st. Michael, minn.) topped the kills list with 12 each followed by emily palkert (jr., mb, excelsior, minn.) and megan carlson (so., oh, andover, minn.).
cu's defense out-played the coyotes 62-53 in digs. Their 13 blocks were nearly twice san bernardino's 7. Carlson led the team with 18 digs, while mary slinger (sr., l, faribault, minn.) pitched in with 16. maggie mcnamara (sr., s, zumbrota, minn.) had 10 digs to go with her 45 assists.
