SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF. — Concordia (St. Paul) made history Saturday night by becoming the first program in NCAA Division II women's volleyball history to win five consecutive national championships.
The Golden Bears did it in style, too, beating top-ranked, previously unbeaten and tournament host California State San Bernardino 25-20, 31-29, 25-18 on Saturday night at Coussoulis Arena, ending the Coyotes' 66-match home winning streak.
"For these guys, what they always do when we go into other people's places is, there's just no distraction. All you're doing there is, you're focusing on volleyball," Concordia coach Brady Starkey said, referring to his players. "That's really kind of their mindset, I think, when they go. ... When we go play any big crowd, that's what they're doing. They're going to play volleyball. So, they just are so focused all the time when they do that. It amazes me, actually."
The Golden Bears (34-2) have won 30 consecutive NCAA tournament matches and have eliminated Cal State San Bernardino (32-1) four years in a row.
"It just so happens that we have a great matchup, and at the end of the games, we were the ones that were able to terminate at the end," Concordia senior libero Taylor Fieldsted said.
This is the second time that the Golden Bears have defeated the Coyotes on their home floor in the NCAA tournament, also doing so in the 2003 national semifinals.
It's also Concordia's second victory over the Coyotes for the national title, having defeated them in five sets in St. Paul in 2008, Concordia's second championship.
Concordia, which captured the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's first women's national championship ever back in 2007, has won five of the league's 11 total national titles.
