Mavericks Drop NCAA Tournament Opener to Top-Rated Concorida

Minnesota State Finishes the 2010 Season 20-8 Overall

Marshall, Minn. --- The seventh-seeded Minnesota State volleyball squad dropped its first-round NCAA Tournament match to top-rated Concordia University Thursday, 3-1.

After the loss, Minnesota State now owns a 2-8 record in NCAA Tournament competition. The NCAA appearance marked the eighth in program history.

In the opening set, MSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a kill from senior middle blocker Amanda Thompson and a hitting error by CU. The two teams battled back-and-forth for the rest of the Match, but MSU pulled out to a 12-9 lead, and never looked back, winning the set, 25-21. Sophomore Chelsea Fogarty led MSU with five kills and a .714 hitting percentage in the first, while junior setter Brittany Stamer tallied 16 helpers.

Concordia jumped out to an 8-4 lead early in the second set, and pulled awhile from there, evening the match with a 25-19 win. Senior middle blocker Kimber Kuhl killed four hits in the set to lead MSU.
After exchanging set victories in the first two sets, Concordia took the third and fourth sets, 25-16 and 25-11 for the win. MSU’s hit the ball well, but time-after-time, the Golden Bears were able to dig Minnesota State's attack.

Fogarty led MSU with 15 kills and a .517 hitting percentage, while senior outside hitter Amanda Beekman tallied 11 kills. Stamer finished the contest with 41 assists. Sophomore defensive specialist Samantha Dale and Fogarty each tallied double-digit digs, 10 and 11, respectively.

CU has won 19 straight NCAA tournament games and will face the winner of third-seeded Wayne State and sixth-seeded Metro State, tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. in Marshall, Minn.

Minnesota State ends the 2010 season with a 20-8 overall record and a 12-7 NSIC mark.
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