Concordia University St. Paul Athletics

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OFFICIAL NCAA HIGHLIGHTS & FULL GAME REPLAYS | NCAA DIGITAL GAME PROGRAM

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Seeking an NCAA record 7th-straight volleyball championship, third-ranked Concordia-St. Paul (33-3) defeated top-ranked University of Tampa (32-2) Thursday night in four sets in the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball National Quarterfinals (18-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-22) at the US Cellular Center.

Concordia will play #25 Wheeling Jesuit (38-5) on Friday, Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the national semifinals. It will be the first meeting between the programs. Concordia is unbeaten in seven prior appearances in the national semifinals.


 
The win improves Concordia's NCAA Tournament win streak to 40 consecutive matches, as its all-time NCAA Tournament record improves to 50-4 in 11 appearances. Concordia is now 8-1 in nine trips to the National Quarterfinals (Elite Eight).

Concordia is now 8-3 all-time against the Spartans, including four straight years in the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Golden Bears bounced back from a first set loss to take the match in four, managing a .350 hitting percentage and holding the Spartans to just a .270 mark.

Four-time All-Americans Kayla Koenecke and Amanda Konetchy each came up big for CU in what was a solid effort from the entire team.  Koenecke finished with a team-high 14 kills and 13 digs while hitting .500 in the match.  With 1645 careers kills, she stands just three kills from moving into third all-time in Concordia history.  Konetchy played a key role in the turnaround after the first set, picking up 40 of her 48 assists in Concordia's three winning sets.  She also added eight digs on the defensive end.

Emily McDonough grabbed her 13th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs while hitting .370 and Riley Hanson contributed 12 kills and five blocks to finish with a .400 hitting percentage.

Tampa was led by First Team All-American Berkley Whaley and her match-high 19 kills.  Setter Kahley Patrick also finished with a double-double with 41 assists and 10 digs.

The Spartans displayed the firepower that had them ranked as the top team in the country in the first set, running out to a quick 6-1 lead and forcing a rare CU timeout.  The lead hit seven a few minutes later at 10-3 but the resilient Bears closed the gap to two at 11-9.  A 6-2 run for Tampa pushed the lead out to eight at 21-13 and Concordia couldn't claw their way back in it as the Spartans went up 1-0 with a 25-18 set win.

Tampa hit .387 as a team in the set as Berkley Whaley picked up eight kills and Kahley Patrick added 11 assists and five digs.

Concordia was held to just .267 hitting in the first and only Heather Schiller had more than two kills, with four.

The tide was turned in the second set as the Golden Bears used some strong play at the net to build a 7-3 lead following a four point run.  Tampa evened it up at nine before another 4-0 CU run gave them the lead at 13-9.  Tampa couldn't cut into the lead as Concordia wouldn't allow UT back closer than two as they closed out the set 25-17.

Hanson and McDonough carried the load offensively with six and five kills, respectively, in the set.  Hanson also picked up three blocks, including two solo blocks.

The hitting percentages were a completely different story in the second set as CU hit an impressive .483 compared to a .143 mark for Tampa.



The Golden Bears got off to another fast start in the third, grabbing a five point advantage at 8-3 in the early going.  The lead hit seven at 14-7 but Tampa scored three straight to get back in it.  CU refused to fold as they bounced back with four straight points to push the lead to eight.  Tampa failed to get back in it as Concordia pulled one set closer to the Final Four with a 25-19 set win.

Koenecke caught fire in the third, picking up six kills, three digs, two assists and a block.

Tampa received three kills from Whaley and Meagan Burke in the set.

The Spartans looked to force a deciding fifth set as they took a 7-6 lead in the fourth, but they would not lead again.  A 5-0 run gave CU an 11-7 advantage and appeared to be cruising to victory before Tampa cut the lead to one at 22-21 following a prolonged 10-6 run.  Concordia scored to straight to force match point and finished it off two points later to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.

Koenecke had five kills on six attempts while McDonough and Hanson each had four kills for CU in the final set.

Whaley once again led the Spartans with five kills.

Surprisingly, the two teams each hit .290 in the deciding fourth set.