LOUISVILLE, KY. - Another year, another victim.
The top-ranked Concordia (St. Paul) volleyball team beat second-ranked Tampa 25-23, 23-25, 26-24, 25-10 on Saturday to claim its fourth consecutive NCAA Division II championship.
The Spartans (31-4) fell to the Golden Bears (32-4) just as West Texas A&M, Cal State San Bernardino and Western Washington did in the finals before them. Tampa was 1-1 against Concordia during the regular season.
The Golden Bears finished the season with 22 wins in a row, and they have won 24 straight in the NCAA tournament.
And the run might not be over. Not with a roster that loses just two seniors. Those two seniors, Emily Palkert and Krista Erikson, never lost an NCAA tournament match.
"I don't think anyone goes out expecting to do that in their career," Palkert said. "It's amazing not only to have a season like this in athletics but also to make best friends like I have and to get close to girls like this and have great coaches like this."
Tampa held late leads in every set but the fourth. The Spartans were up 22-18 in the first and 22-20 in the second and third.
Concordia dominated in the fourth set. It closed out the match with a 10-2 run, punctuated by four straight kills from Palkert.
