NCAA Division II Concordia-St. Paul continues historic run with its sixth straight national championship
he Concordia-St. Paul athletic department is going to need a bigger trophy case. Either that or create a budget for mini-storage. Concordia St-Paul claimed its sixth consecutive NCAA Division II Women’s Volleyball Champion- ship trophy Dec. 1 when the team rallied from two sets down to de- feat Tampa, 16-14, in the deciding fifth set in Pensacola, Fla. The victory was an epic mile- stone for the program and head coach Brady Starkey. The sixth straight national title equaled Washington-St. Louis (1991-1996) historic run at the Division III level. The 2013 season will give Concordia the opportunity to be- come the most successful women’s volleyball team in NCAA history. The Golden Bears (33-4) have now won 30 or mores matches in all 10 seasons Starkey has been at the helm. They have also won 36 straight tournament matches and have beaten hard-luck Tampa twice in the last three title matches. This 2012 championship was the
T
SIXTH SENSE: Concordia-St. Paul poses with another NCAA Division II Women’s Volleyball Championship trophy after defeating Tampa in the title match. (Photo: C.J. Siewert)
most dramatic in the program’s impressive streak. One set from the streak ending, Starkey huddled his team before the third set. “Nothing will feel better than coming back from down 0-2 and to win in five,” he said. “And in the huddle, I never looked at them and saw that they were defeated, they were all like ‘we’re good!’ and they were…” Setter Amanda Konetchy dished out 72 assists and landed a spot on the all-tournament team. Ellie Duffy pounded out 23 kills, while Kayla Koenecke added 20 kills
NCAA Division III At Holland, Michigan
Championship Match: St. Thomas (Minn.) def. Calvin College 13-25, 17-25, 25-18, 26-16, 15-9. Semifinals: St. Thomas (Minn.) def. Elmhurst 25-22, 25-23, 26-24 • Calvin College def. Christopher Newport 25-19, 25-21, 23- 25, 25-16. Quarterfinals: : St. Thomas (Minn.) def. Clarkson 25-13, 27-25, 25- 20 • Calvin College def. Puget Sound 25-22, 23-25, 25-15, 25-10 • Elmhurst def. Salisbury 25-20, 25-19, 25-18 • Christopher Newport def. UMass-Bos- ton 22-25, 25-9, 25-17, 25-18. Highlights: St. Thomas (Minn.) ended the season on a 35-match winning
RISING TO THE TOP: St. Thomas (Minn.) celebrates its NCAA Divi- sion III championship. (Photo: Mark Brown)
USAVOLLEYBALL.ORG | 49
and 15 digs. Konetchy, Duffy, Koenecke and Cassie Haag all made the AVCA all-American team for Concordia
At the University of West Florida Championship Match: Champi- onship Match: Concordia-St. Paul def. Tampa 27-29, 17-25, 25-23, 25-23, 16-14. Semifinals: Concor- dia-St. Paul def. BYU-Hawaii 20-25, 25-11, 25-19, 25-14 ~ Tampa def. Indianapolis 25-18, 25-20, 27-25. Quarterfinals: Concordia-St. Paul def. Wingate 22-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-18 ~ Tampa def. Wheeling Jesuit
25-16, 25-14, 25-15 ~ BYU Hawaii def. West Texas A&M 25-22, 25-16, 25-14 ~ Indianapolis def. New Ha- ven 25-16, 27-29, 25-17, 25-22 Notes: Concordia-St. Paul has eliminated Tampa from the national tournament each of the last three seasons, twice in the NCAA Cham- pionship match and once in the semifinals. AVCA Division II Coach of the Year: Wilfred Navalta (BYU-Ha- waii) AVCA Division II Player of the Year: : Danielle Selkridge (Univer- sity of Tampa).
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72