By: by Patrick Rydeen

Tournament Website

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The top-seeded Concordia University volleyball team (28-2) knocked off the eighth-seeded Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (15-14) in the first round of the NSIC/US Bank Tournament.  Concordia improves to 13-2 all-time in NSIC Tournament play while Minnesota Crookston falls to 0-4.  The win was CU's 26th in a row over UMC and their third this season.

Kayla Koenecke and Erienne Lauersdorf led the way offensively with 10 kills apiece as McDonough had nine.  Koenecke also added 10 digs to pick up her 18th double-double of the year.  Amanda Konetchy, the Division II leader in assists per set, had 36 assists and eight digs on the evening.  As a team, Concordia hit .400 and held UMC to just .043.

Brittany Looker led the Golden Eagles with eight kills and Sierra Trost had 22 assists in UMC's first trip to the conference tournament since 2006.

Minnesota Crookston made it tough for CU early in the first, holding a 6-5 advantage early.  Four straight points gave Concordia a 9-6 lead and they wouldn't trail again.   The match remained close at 13-10 before the Golden Bears scored 12 of 14 to take the first set 25-12.  CU hit an impressive .455 in the first as they held the Golden Eagles in the negative at -.034.

The second set also remained close in the early going with Concordia holding a 10-9 advantage but the Golden Bears proved to be too much.  CU went on a 10-2 run to build nine point lead as they cruised to a 25-14 victory.  The Golden Bears once again kept Minnesota Crookston below zero for the second set in row at -.027.

Concordia's offense did the work in the third set as Concordia kept UMC at arm's length for the entire set.  After the Golden Eagles built a 4-3 lead, Concordia scored five straight and didn't lead by less than three the rest of the set.  Concordia cruised to a 25-17 set win and a sweep of the match.

Concordia takes on #22 Northern State, the fifth seed in the tournament, at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Gangelhoff Center in the semifinals.  The game will be preceeded by #2 Minnesota Duluth, the second seed, and #20 Wayne State, the sixth seed, at 1:00 p.m.  The championship game will be held on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.