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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Seeking an NCAA record 7th-straight volleyball championship, #3 Concordia-St. Paul (34-3) defeated #25 Wheeling Jesuit (38-6) in straight sets Friday night in the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball National Semifinals (25-11, 25-16, 25-12) at the US Cellular Center.
Concordia will play #4 BYU-Hawaii (29-1) on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the national championship match. It marks the third meeting between the two schools, both coming last season and both resulting in Golden Bear wins. The last meeting came in the 2012 Final Four as CU won in four sets.
The win improves Concordia's NCAA Tournament win streak to 41 consecutive matches, as its all-time NCAA Tournament record improves to 51-4 in 11 appearances. Concordia is now a perfect 8-0 in the National Semifinals (Final Four).
The Golden Bears were running on all cylinders as they hit .438 as a team and had five players in double figures in kills.
Emily McDonough led the way with a team-high 12 kills and 17 digs while
Kayla Koenecke,
Riley Hanson,
Heather Schiller and
Erienne Lauersdorf had 10 kills each. All four hit at least .350 in the match, with Koenecke and Schiller each hitting at least .500. Lauersdorf also chipped in four aces.
Amanda Konetchy pass with machine-like precision as she assisted on 42 of Concordia's 54 kills.
Taylor Dordan was also a big factor defensively with 13 digs.
Jenna Pew was a bright spot for the Cardinals with 10 kills and a .529 hitting percentage despite the fact that Wheeling Jesuit was only able to muster a .167 hitting percentage as a team. Andrea Thobe assisted on 19 of 21 kills for WJU.
Concordia exhausted both of Wheeling Jesuit's timeouts early in the first set as they quickly ran out to a 10-2 lead. WJU got their feet under them and kept it at seven at 17-10 but the Golden Bears surged to close the set at 25-11.
Schiller picked up six kills on eight attempts and Konetchy put up 15 assists in the opening set.
Pew was the only Cardinal with more than two kills as she finished with four in the set.
Wheeling Jesuit tried to swing the momentum in their favor by grabbing the first two points in the second set, but it was a short-lived lead. Concordia stretched the lead out to six at 14-8 and didn't allow the Cardinals back within five as they cruised to take a 2-0 advantage with a 25-16 set win.
Koenecke came to life with five kills on seven attempts and three digs in the set as Concordia hit .452 in the second.
The third and final set was dominated from start to finish by the six-time defending national champions. The Golden Bears used a 12-0 run to turn a 5-4 lead into a blowout at 17-4. The Cardinals fought to get back in it as they scored six straight at match point to prolong their season before Concordia closed it out 25-12.
If the Golden Bears win, it will be the longest streak of consecutive national championships at any level in volleyball. The record is currently shared with Washington University (St. Louis) at the Division III level between 1991 and 1996. The streak would also be the fourth longest Division II streak in any women's sport.
Their six total titles going into tomorrow is already more than any other DII program, with the next closest being Portland State (4) while Barry University and West Texas A&M each have three titles.
