Volleyball: Golden Bears maul Wayne State

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Two-time defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul swept Wayne State 25-17, 25-13, 25-10 on Friday night in the NCAA Division II Central Region semifinals.

The Golden Bears, who have won 70 consecutive matches, improve to 33-0. They’ll play Metro State tonight in the finals. No. 17 WSC ends the season at 29-8.

Wayne started strong in the first set, taking an early 8-3 lead. The Golden Bears scored six of the next seven points to tie the set at 9-9. Wayne State’s last lead was at 10-9, then CU scored the next five points to go up 14-10 and WSC could not rally. The second set was close early with WSC trailing 8-6. But Concordia-St. Paul scored 11 of the next 12 points to take a commanding 19-7 lead. The Golden Bears hit .389.

In the third set, Concordia-St. Paul took an early 7-3 lead forcing Wildcat coach Scott Kneifl to take his first timeout. The ‘Cats pulled within two points at 10-8, but Concordia-St. Paul scored the next six points to gain control.

Concordia-St. Paul hit .364 while holding the Wildcats to a .018 hitting percentage. CSP had 43 kills to 24 for WSC and had 11 blocks to four for the Wildcats.

Middle hitter Jennifer Hefner had eight kills followed by sophomore outside hitter Tali Fredrickson with seven. Sophomore libero Leigh Connot had a team-high 11 digs while junior setter Diedra Artz was credited with 20 set assists for the Wildcats.

Wayne loses just one senior. Defensive specialist Tessa Wietfeld played on four NCAA national tournament qualifying teams and was a part of 106 wins, more than any other player in school history.

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