No. 8-ranked Concordia (St. Paul), a five-time NSIC tournament champion, lost to visiting Sioux Falls 25-23, 19-25, 25-21, 25-21 on Tuesday night in the conference tournament quarterfinals. Bria Barfnecht had 18 kills to lead the Cougars (20-9). Hope Schiller had 17 kills and 18 digs for the Golden Bears (22-8), who now have to hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II tournament.
Host Minnesota Duluth (25-5), ranked No. 4, defeated Upper Iowa 25-11, 23-25, 25-23, 25-19 behind Hanna Meyer's 20 kills; she hit .436.
No. 5 Northern State (26-3) prevailed over visiting Minnesota State Mankato 22-25, 25-18, 25-16, 24-26, 15-10 as Hailey Busch had 16 kills and Laura Snyder 14. Morgan Olson let the Mavericks (18-12) with 18 kills while Alivia Garbe had 14 kills and 26 digs.
U's Oden honored
Gophers freshman Emily Oden was named the WCHA rookie of the week Tuesday after helping lead the No. 2 Gopher women's hockey team to a 6-3, 2-1 WCHA sweep over Bemidji State last weekend. Oden, of Edina, had a power-play goal, one assist and four shots on goal in the series.
Gold Cup update
Minnesota United announced that tickets for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup at Allianz Field will be available in exclusive presales to season-ticket holders, members of The Preserve — the official Allianz Field Waiting List — and members of the MNUFC mailing list beginning Friday before going on sale to the general public Nov. 15 at 10 a.m.
MNUFC will host Group D, which includes the United States, in the first day of the tournament on June 18. The Gold Cup will be the first international sporting event at the Loons' new home in St. Paul.
WCHA award
Minnesota State Mankato junior forward Charlie Gerard was named WCHA's offensive player of the week. He had a goal and three assists as the No. 3 Mavericks (7-1) swept the Gophers.
