Concordia Defeats Tampa In National Championship Match

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The second-ranked University of Tampa Spartans volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to the No. 1 Concordia University Golden Bears in the NCAA Division II national championship on Saturday night in Knights Hall on the campus of Bellarmine University. The Spartans held several late leads but could not capitalize as the Golden Bears won their fourth consecutive national title.

The Spartans, who lost by scores of 25-23, 23-25, 26-24, 25-10, finish their season with a record of 31-4 and see their 21-game win streak come to an end. CU closes out the season at 32-4 and also takes the season series as it has won two of three meetings against UT this year. Tampa also drops to 1-3 all time versus the Bears.

The Golden Bears gained an early lead in the opening set, holding a 7-4 lead until the Spartans fought back to score at seven. After the teams exchanged points for a bit, UT then picked up the three point lead at 14-11. Tampa held its biggest lead of the game at 22-18 when Concordia stormed back with a 6-1 run to take the set, 25-23.

CU kept the momentum going into the second frame, racing out a 7-3 lead. The Spartans came back again though and evened the set at nine. Both squads then slugged it out as neither could lead by more than one until a huge block by Meghan Sherman and Sam Macks gave the Spartans an edge at 22-20 forcing a timeout from Concordia.

Once again, the three-time national champions would not be deterred as they knotted the score at 22 forcing a Tampa timeout. Out of the break, the Golden Bears committed back-to-back hitting errors and Kaleigh Cunningham capped off the 25-23 win with a kill.

The third frame was no different from the previous two as the teams battled back and forth to a 9-9 tie. From there, the Spartans were able to put together a 3-1 run to get a 13-10 lead and forcing the Golden Bears to call a timeout. The Spartans were able to maintain the three-point lead until a late charge by CU tied the score at 23 forcing Tampa to use its second timeout of the set. Out of the break, both teams registered a kill but the Golden Bears were able to pull away and take the third set 26-24.

Then in the final frame, Concordia compiled a big lead that was too much to overcome as the Golden Bears cruised to a 25-10 victory, giving them their fourth consecutive title.

The Spartans put up a strong fight in the first three games and held a 22-20 lead in each of the sets, but the Golden Bears were able to pull away with the match.

Cunningham registered a team-high 14 kills on .344 hitting while Danielle Selkridge followed with 13 and Jessica Yingling 10. Sherman ran the Tampa offense by handing out 47 assists as finished a dig shy of a double-double.

Junior libero Julie Howlett followed Friday's 20-dig performance with 18 digs in the match, the most of any player in the contest. Melissa Vanderhall chipped in with 11 more as the Tampa collected 53 as a team, three shy of Concordia's total.

Five Spartans earned a spot on the all-tournament team, including Cunningham, Howlett, Selkridge, Sherman and Vanderhall.

The Spartans conclude a successful season where it captured its sixth consecutive and 20th overall Sunshine State Conference championship. A mainstay in the NCAA tournament, UT earned its 26th tourney appearance while winning its second consecutive NCAA South Regional and 13th in program history. The group of five seniors on the squad finish their careers with an overall record of 120-15.