ST. PAUL, Minn. - The #1-ranked and undeafeated Golden Bear volleyball team (34-0) heads into the 2009 Elite Eight Championship Tournament this Thursday, playing #9 Indianapolis (38-1) in the quarterfinals at 7:30 pm. The Golden Bears look to three-peat on their home floor as the entire Championship tournament will be played at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul. The tournament runs Thursday through Saturday. Visit the TOURNAMENT WEBSITE for a complete schedule of events, links to live webstreaming and live stats and MORE!! - VIEW COMPLETE RELEASE
The Golden Bears are stacked with five All-Americans and the benefit of a home crowd, making the task for Indianapolis even more difficult. UIndy comes into the quarterfinals with a 24-match win streak in tow, while the Golden Bears have now won 71 consecutive matches, an NCAA record. The defensive battle between the teams will be worth the price of admission, while the fireworks expected on offense should surely fill the seats.
Concordia and UIndy lay claim to the only All-American liberos in Division II this season. Mary Slinger has been rock solid for the Golden Bears and was named to the 1st Team, while Kyleigh Turner made the 3rd Team for the Greyhounds. Both teams are led by All-America First Team setters, Maggie McNamara for CU and Cheneta Morrison for UIndy.
This year's tournament features five ranked teams, with all five falling in the top 10 of the poll and led by #1 Concordia University. #2 Cal State San Bernardino (32-1) returns to St. Paul looking for some revenge after last year's lengthy and thrilling title bout against the Golden Bears. CSUSB is also in the game notes as Concordia's last loss when the Coyotes took the 2008 season opener from CU. Concordia has since strung together their 71 straight wins, including the win against CSUSB for the 2008 title.
Another team to look out for is #6 Tampa (31-2). Tampa is 2nd in the nation behind CU in kills (15.1) and is the only team ahead of the Golden Bears in hitting percentage (.331), meaning an offensive grudge match could arise if both teams advance to meet in the semifinals, but Tampa would have to get past Cal State San Bernardino first. #5 West Texas A&M (37-3) would appear to be the favorite to advance from the left side of the bracket as the only ranked team, although everyone knows all bets are off when you get this far into the postseason. The Lady Buffs have 21 straight wins behind them and will utilize their wealth of NCAA experience, having reached the Elite Eight in each of their 10 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Three of the four quarterfinal matchups are first-time meetings between the opponents. Only the Cal State San Bernardino vs. Tampa match has seen teams knotted up in the past. The Coyotes of CSUSB are 4-0 against Tampa, with the last meeting being in the 2003 NCAA Championship quarterfinals. Ironically, that season the Coyotes moved on to face Concordia in the tournament's semifinal match, just as they could this season. CU took in a commanding 3-0 decision in that match before finishing as the 2003 runner-up.
