Rangers Win First Set But Fall 3-1 to Defending National Champions Concordia-St. Paul in First Round of NCAA Tournament

St. Paul, Minn.: The Regis Ranger volleyball team took the first set against #1 ranked and defending NCAA Division II National Champion Concordia-St. Paul 25-19 in the first round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament.  The Golden Bears responded by taking the next three sets by scores of 25-10, 25-18, 25-17 to stay on path for a second consecutive title.

"I take my hat off to them (Concordia-St. Paul), we gave them a scare but they were able to gather themselves" states Regis Head Coach Frank Lavrisha.  "Besides the first set, our passing game was a little bit off tonight and they took advantage of that."

Regis (19-12) had four service aces and just three errors in the first set to stun the partisan crowd.  Regis was led by sophomore outside hitter Jessica Howe who pounded home 15 kills, fellow sophomores Sarah Keiter and Kerry Grady each tacked on nine kills.  Yet another sophomore, sette Devin Ekchardt, had her 13th double-double of the season with 34 assists and 13 digs.

Sophomore Jessica Howe said, "this was a fun atmosphere to play in, it was a great learning tool to show us where we need to be to compete for a championship."

The Rangers passing game was a thorn in their side as they allowed Concordia nine service aces in the match.  The loss snapped the Rangers seven match winning streak and was the second loss for the Rangers to Concordia-St. Paul this season.  Concordia-St. Paul (31-1) had four in double figures led by freshman Ellie Duffy's 15 kills.  Sophomore middle hitter Emily Palkert was next with 14 and senior Whitney Meierotto was next with 13 kills.  The Golden Bears outhit Regis .364 to .208.

Regis ends their season with there most successful since the 2001 team went 24-9 and also made it to the NCAA Tournament.  The Rangers lose four seniors in defensive specialists Nia Ingram, Kristin Thompson and Hannah Tautolo and middle hitter Liz Franz. 

Lavrisha comments, "our four seniors guided us this season and their leadership on and off the court were the difference for us this season."

Click here for boxscore.