Concordia-St. Paul Celebrates Another Region Championship
No. 2 Seed Concordia University Earns Fourth Straight NCAA Central Region Championship; CU Faces Cal. State-San Bernardino in Elite Eight
MARSHALL, Minn. – No. 2 seeded Concordia University, the three-time defending NCAA II national champions, will go for a fourth straight title in two weeks after earning a 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-12) sweep over No. 4 seed Nebraska-Kearney in the championship match of the NCAA Central Region Tournament in Marshall on Sunday night.
Concordia (29-4) will now advance to the NCAA II Elite Eight in Louisville, Ky., on Dec. 2-4, hosted by Bellarmine University. The Golden Bears will face the West Region champion, Cal. State-San Bernardino on Dec. 2.
The region championship is the sixth in school history for CU and improves its record to 31-4 all-time in NCAA tournament play. The Golden Bears have now won 19 straight matches since losing to Southwest Minnesota State on Sept. 28 in Marshall.
Three CU players led a balanced attack as Megan Carlson, Cassie Haag and Kara Pioske each finished with a match-high 11 kills, while Amanda Konetchy finished with a match-high 44 assists. Carlson also recorded a double-double with 17 digs along with the 11 kills.
Nebraska-Kearney (31-5) was led by Jerk Walkowiak and Ellie Pesavento who both racked up nine kills.
CU finished the match hitting .333 with 49 digs, while UNK hit just .147 and recorded just 32 digs.
2010 NCAA II Central Region All-Tournament Team
Ngoc Phan, Meto State
Bri Morley, Metro State
Devin Diedrich, Southwest Minnesota State
Brooke Burmeister, Southwest Minnesota State
Cara Carson, Southwest Minnesota State
Ellie Pesavento, Nebraska-Kearney
Katlyn Heisermann, Nebraska-Kearney
Cola Svec, Nebraska-Kearney
Emily Palkert, Concordia
Megan Carlson, Concordia
Amanda Konetchy, Concordia
Cassie Haag, Concordia
2010 NCAA II Central Region All-Tournament Team
Post Game Quotes
Nebraska-Kearney
Head Coach Rick Squiers’ thoughts following the loss in the Central Regional Final to Concordia – St. Paul
“First of all congratulate Concordia on a match well-played. (Concordia – St. Paul) were outstanding tonight in all phases and we did not have an answer. We are disappointed obviously that we were not able to move onto the elite 8 and represent the Central Region.”
Head Coach Rick Squiers on what he learned from his team this season
“This is one of the most outstanding teams I have had the priveledge to coach. I am disappointed for them because I was hoping to see, these seniors especially, the chance to participate longer but they have done everything right. They are great in the classroom, they come into the gym with a positive attitude, they have worked hard, played as a team and have been an absolute joy to be around. I am very thankful to take this journey with them.”
Head Coach Rick Squiers on Concordia – St. Paul’s balanced attack
“(Concordia – St. Paul) balance was very problematic for us. (Concordia – St. Paul) are so complete, they just flat out bring it and that is why they are good.”
Head Coach Rick Squiers on the scramble plays
“No question whenever the rallies turned into scramble plays, things got hectic and (Concordia – St. Paul) dealt with that a little bit better than we did. We got behind a little early and pressed a bit.
Cola Svec on the difference between the 3rd set last night against SMSU and the 2nd set against Concordia – St. Paul
“It was frustrating last night, but not a doubt in my mind that we were good to go and tonight I still think we had confidence in each other and I think we still played with our hearts and it just wasn’t falling for us and that was the more frustrating part.”
Concordia - St. Paul
Head Coach Brady Starky’s thoughts on advancing to the Elite 8 and another Central Regional Final Championship
“I thought we played great this weekend, thought we played really well tonight; very under control and proud of our girls.”
Head Coach Brady Starky’s on his comparison of his current team to some teams in the past.
“They really aren’t that different. (Prior Golden Bears players) have created a culture of hard work and wanting to win and these (current) kids have just followed up on that. They come in early on in the season, right of the bat, working hard and trying to get better and they are reaping the rewards right now.”
Head Coach Brady Starky on the team’s attitude and confidence.
“It is a really confident and composed group. We have a really good balance of youth and experience. They really enjoy each other and have fun and I think that is one of the reasons why they are successful because they really don’t freak out about playing in the Central Region Finals.”
Emily Palkert on what to expect the rest of the NCAA Tournament
“It will be exciting a good team right off the bat and it will be a good test to see how well we play on the road in a place like Kentucky. I am excited to see how our team reacts. We are going to focus on our game and staying consistant.”
Megan Carlson on how she was able to be so dominant on both sides of the ball
“In the game I just try to do what I can for my team and get done what I need to do and get our offense going. I was just trying to play my game and it just happened to come out that way.”
Taylor Fieldsted on the Golden Bears team motto.
“If we are going to lose; we are going to go down swinging hard and being aggressive.”
"Both coaches thanked Southwest Minnesota State University for hosting the 2010 Central Regional Final and for the hospitality and running a fine tournament."
