Kearney, Neb. - The No. 1 ranked Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team hit .333 to sweep 10th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney (-16, -24, -12) in the NCAA Tournament Central Regional final Saturday night in Marshall, Minn.

The Golden Bears (29-4) win the region for a fourth straight year and are aiming for an unprecedented fourth consecutive national title. Since 2008, CSP has now won 103 of 108 matches. UNK ends the year at 31-5 and falls to 5-5 in “Sweet 16” matches.

Concordia dropped the first set in both its previous NCAA matches this weekend but that didn't happen again. The Bears tallied 17 kills and hit .333 while UNK had just eight kills and three unforced attack errors in the first set.

A 4-1 Bears run broke a six all tie and forced the Lopers to take a timeout. This first spurt featured service aces by freshman setter Amanda Konetchy and junior outside Megan Carlson and UNK wouldn't get closer then four points the rest of the set.

The Lopers bounced back quickly, as seniors Kelsey Werner (Grand Island), Jeri Walkowiak (Grand Island) and freshman Ellie Pesavento (Omaha Marian) each recorded four kills in the second set.

After leading 17-14, UNK found themselves down 20-18 and then 23-20. Kills from Werner and Walkowiak, and a solo block from freshman reserve Haley Lake (Lincoln SW), helped the Lopers come all the way back and tie the set at 24.

But, an unforced error and a kill by Carlson (11 kills, 17 digs, .292 attack pct.) gave CSP a 2-0 match lead. The third set was then a repeat of the first as the Bears hit .480 with 14 kills and jumped out to an early 10-3 lead.

Overall, Walkowiak and Pesavento tied for the team lead in kills at nine a piece with both hitting over .300 as well. Also, Werner and fellow outside Ariel Krolikowski (Grand Island) each had six kills from the outside as UNK finished with 34 as a team.

The Lopers' .147 hitting efficiency (34-18-109) was a season-low with Concordia's .333 (47-14-99) a season-high for a UNK opponent. The Bears had just one more block than UNK, 6-5, but dug up 17 more balls, 49-32.

Besides Carlson, sophomore middle Cassie Haag (.348) and sophomore outside Kara Pioske (.625) had 11 kills with freshman right side Kayla Koenecke having nine and hitting .444. Finally, junior libero Taylor Fieldsted had 11 digs.

This year's Elite Eight will be held Dec. 2-4 in Louisville, Ky., as part of the Division II Sports Festival. Concordia will play the West Region champion, either 7th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino or 15th-ranked Western Washington, in one national quarterfinal match.

2010 NCAA II Central Region All-Tournament Team
Ngoc Phan, Meto State
Bri Morley, Metro State
Devin Diedrich, Southwest Minnesota State
Brooke Burmeister, Southwest Minnesota State
Cara Carson, Southwest Minnesota State
Ellie Pesavento, Nebraska-Kearney
Katlyn Heiserman, Nebraska-Kearney
Cola Svec, Nebraska-Kearney
Emily Palkert, Concordia-St. Paul
Megan Carlson, Concordia-St. Paul
Amanda Konetchy, Concordia-St. Paul
Cassie Haag, Concordia-St. Paul