Box Score DULUTH, Minn. - Six-time defending national champion third-seed and third-ranked Concordia St-Paul (32-3) defeated top-seed and second-ranked Minnesota Duluth (33-3) to advance to their seventh-consecutive Elite Eight. The Golden Bears knocked off the Bulldogs in four sets with scores of 25-17, 20-25, 25-21 and 25-20, ending the host school UMD's season. CU has won 39 straight NCAA Tournament matches.
The Golden Bears' Cental Region title was their seventh in a row and ninth in 11 trips to the region final. Concordia will take on the top-ranked Tampa Spartans on Thursday in a rematch of the 2012 national title match. CU also played Tampa back on September 14th in Denver and won in four sets, handing the Spartans their only loss of the season.
Concordia has now won 39-consecutive matches in NCAA Tournament play, last losing in the regional title match in 2006 to Minnesota Duluth. Concordia holds a 49-4 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and is 9-2 in regional final matches. Concordia is 29-2 in regional tournament play.
It was truly a team effort in the CU win. As has been the case throughout the entire season, the Golden Bears used a balanced attack to take down the Bulldogs.
Kayla Koenecke and
Erienne Lauersdorf each had 13 kills,
Riley Hanson has had 12 and
Heather Schiller had nine. Koenecke also had 10 digs to pick up her 22nd double-double on the season. Schiller not only provided offense but she also added seven total blocks (two solo and five assists) as Concordia had 12.0 as a team, giving UMD fits offensively.
Amanda Konetchy was everywhere for CU as she had 49 assists and tied for the team-high with 14 digs. She was joined in the defensive effort by
Emily McDonough with 14 digs to go along with seven kills.
The Golden Bears as a team managed a .348 hitting percentage and only committed nine errors against one of the best defensive teams in the country.
The Bulldogs high-powered attack was held to just .242 as a team, led by 24 kills from Central Region Player of the Year Kate Lange. She completed the double-double with 10 digs. Setter Ashley Hinsch had 53 assists as well as six digs for UMD in the losing effort.
Concordia looked the part as the six-time defending national champions as they pulled away from MInnesota Duluth in the first set. The score remained close with neither team seeming able to gain the upper hand until CU scored six of seven to turn an 11-11 tie into a 17-12 lead. UMD responded with two points to cut the lead to three but the Golden Bears answered with four of their own to stretch the lead out to 21-14. Concordia didn't let up as they closed out the first set with a 25-17 win.
Kayla Koenecke was the story in the first set, making an early statement with nine kills on ten attempts in the set and appearing nearly unstoppable. She seemed to really be clicking with setter
Amanda Konetchy in the early going. Konetchy had 14 assists in the set. Concordia hit a torrid .419 in the first set.
UMD made it clear that Kate Lange would get all the attempts she could handle as she finished the first set with five kills on 16 attempts. The Bulldogs were only able to muster a .184 hitting percentage in the set.
Minnesota Duluth bounced back by taking a 7-4 lead in the second set. Concordia battled back to even the score at nine and again at 13 but UMD fed off a lively crowd to regain a 17-13 lead. The near capacity crowd really came alive in the second set in support of the host Bulldogs. UMD held the Golden Bears off as they even the match by taking the second set 25-20.
Lange once again shouldered the load with a team-high six kills on 16 attempts and libero Julie Rainey slowed the CU attack with seven digs in the set.
Lauersdorf had five kills and Schiller had four as Concordia significantly cooled off in the second set, hitting just .200.
The momentum shifted back in favor of the Golden Bears as CU built multiple leads and staved off all of UMD's attempts to come back, keeping the crowd in check. The Bulldogs made it all the way back from a deficit that reached as much as four to tie the set at 14, but Concordia willed their way back to a four point lead at 18-14, completely deflating UMD. CU rode that wave to a 25-21 win in the third set to come within one game of a trip back to the Elite Eight.
Riley Hanson,
Heather Schiller and
Emily McDonough all made several huge plays in the set and each had four kills in the set. Konetchy was passing with pinpoint accuracy, picking up 15 assists on the Golden Bears' 16 kills.
Concordia further quieted the crowd by scoring five of the first six points to force a quick UMD timeout. The Bulldogs, to their credit, didn't roll over as they rallied to tie the score at 11. They were unable to jump into the lead as the teams traded points until the score remained tied at 15. CU shut the door with three straight and six of seven to build a 21-16 lead. UMD couldn't close the gap as Concordia won the set 25-20, setting off a celebration on the court.
Hanson and Lauersdorf once again led the attack with four kills each in the deciding set.
Kate Lange picked up eight kills in her final collegiate set.
The Golden Bears had five players named to the All-Tournament Team as
Amanda Konetchy,
Kayla Koenecke,
Erienne Lauersdorf,
Heather Schiller and
Emily McDonough were all honored. UMD's Kate Lange, Ashley Hinsch, Sydney Mauch and Julie Rainey were all selected to the team as well.
