[Editor's note: Saturday evening, I received an email from William Schultz asking me if I'd be interested in a story about women's volleyball. As regular readers of MSF know, we do not often dabble in women's volleyball.
However, when he told me that the story involved a team winning four national championships in a row, well, I was immediately excited about that sharing that story and providing proper recognition for such sustained excellence.
So Williams sent me the article below, which I am very excited to post. What a terrific story and certainly and achievement worth celebrating and applauding.]
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One national championship? Awesome.
Two? Even better.
Three? Ridiculous.
Four? Unheard of.
Four in-a-row? Unbelievable.
Yet that is exactly what was accomplished on Saturday, December 4th by the Women’s Volleyball team at Concordia University, St. Paul (CSP).
Image provided by William Schultz
If you’ve never heard of Concordia, you’re not alone. It is a private school, founded in 1893 to prepare students to work in church vocations and is located in the heart of the Twin Cities.
Concordia is a school that boldly jumped from NAIA to NCAA Division II in 1999, changed its mascot from the Comets to the Golden Bears, and was expected to struggle against larger state schools such as Winona State and Minnesota State University Moorhead. Yet despite the obvious size difference, Concordia has become competitive on a local and national stage, reaching the national tournament in Women’s Basketball, Softball, Volleyball, Baseball, Women’s Golf, and Men’s Golf.
The four straight national championships in Women’s Volleyball stand out as a testament to hard work, dedication, and good recruiting by the Women’s Volleyball staff and players.
Behind this juggernaut stands Concordia’s steady but dynamic head coach Brady Starkey, who became head coach before the 2003 season. Since that time, he has a staggering 272-24 record, including a Division II-record 75 match winning streak as well as the four consecutive National Championships. Starkey, however, gives all the credit to the players, who consistently succeed on the court as well as in the classroom.
Concordia made its first National Volleyball Championship appearance in 2003, losing to North Alabama. Despite the loss, this foray into the national spotlight was a positive sign of things to come. However, consistent national success did not come easy. In 2004 and 2006, Concordia lost in the Regional Championship, while in 2005 they lost in the Elite Eight.
By some accounts, 2007 was expected to be a rebuilding year, with Concordia losing productive senior leaders. And, in reality, the season was relatively nondescript. While CSP won 36 matches, including a 17-1 conference record, they lost close matches to ranked opponents. Furthermore, they lost in the Northern Sun Conference (NSIC), which denied them the conference tournament title. Despite this loss, their regional ranking allowed them to play in the regional, and ultimately the national tournament. On the campus of Washburn University, Concordia dispatched Western Washington 3-1 to win its first national championship at the Division II level.
The 2008 season began with Concordia expected to be even more dominant. However, they were soon swept by Cal St. San Bernardino (CSUSB) in the opening match. Yet this would not be the last time the Golden Bears would face the Coyotes. After going 37-1 (20-0 NSIC), CSP won the Regional Championship, and was selected to host the 2008 National Tournament. Breezing through the quarter and semi-finals, the Golden Bears were ready for a rematch with CSUSB in the National Championship. A dramatic 3-2 win over the Coyotes gave the Bears their second consecutive championship.
The 2009 Golden Bears continued the winning streak began by the 2008 squad, setting a Division II Volleyball record with 74 straight wins. They once again hosted the National Tournament, and facing the CSUSB Coyotes in the National Semi-finals. This time, CSP won 3-1. The three-peat was clinched the following evening as Concordia beat West Texas A&M 3-0.
The 2010 Golden Bears began the season hungry for more wins, in spite of losing All-Americans in libero Mary Slinger and setter Maggie McNamara. An early season loss to Grand Valley State ended their winning streak at 75 matches. However, this did not hinder the Golden Bears as they attempted to continue their run at history. Once again, CSP captured the NSIC title as well as the Regional Championship.
A trip to the National Tournament meant that CSP would travel to Louisville for the 2010 NCAA D-II Fall Festival, hosted by Bellarmine University. Once again, Concordia faced the Coyotes of Cal St. San Bernardino, this time in the quarterfinals. The Golden Bears once again reigned supreme, beating the Coyotes in straight sets. The semifinals matched CSP up with Final Four newcomers Dowling. However, Concordia won easily, sweeping Dowling College to advance to their fourth straight National Championship. As the NCAA play-by-play announcer put it, “Concordia doesn’t rebuild; they reload.”
The 2010 NCAA D-II National Championship pitted Concordia against the Spartans of the University of Tampa. In two previous meetings of these teams in 2010, each team won one. Concordia won set one 25-23, while Tampa took set two by the same margin. Set three was even more contested, but the Golden Bears prevailed by a margin of 26-24. The final set was almost all CSP, with the Golden Bears capturing the fourth set of their fourth National Championship 25-10.
The Golden Bears were led by junior Cassie Haag with 22 kills and freshman setter Amanda Konetchy with 55 assists. Senior Emily Palkert finished her illustrious career with 20 kills, adding to her school record in that category, and joined fellow senior Krista Erickson in winning a National Championship in each of their four seasons.
The 2010 Concordia Golden Bears Women’s Volleyball team featured five AVCA All-Americans: Cassie Haag, Megan Carlson (1st team); Emily Palkert, Amanda Konetchy (2nd); Kayla Koenecke (3rd). Konetchy also received the Freshman of the Year award, joining Palkert and former setter Maggie McNamara as recipients of this award.
Despite the school’s small size and relatively unknown name, the Golden Bears of Concordia University-St. Paul have played bigger and bigger each year. With the support of administration, faculty, staff, students and fans, the Golden Bears have proven that hard work, dedication, and yes, a bit of skill is the right way to win, and win again.
Four-peats on any level are hard to come by, but for the Women’s Volleyball team at Concordia, they’ve proven that even the smallest of schools can not only be competitive, but dominate their opponents while performing at a ridiculously high level.
by William Schultz, CSP class of 2008
About Jerod Morris
