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Dec 4, 2007 8:41 pm US/Central
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Concordia St. Paul Take National Volleyball Title
Reporting
Mike Max
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ―
Concordia University in St. Paul is a small school, but they're celebrating a big title win.
The school, which has just over 800 full time students, can now boast a national championship, after winning the Division 2 volleyball trophy on Saturday.
On Monday, they arrived on campus with a hero's welcome, still a bit shocked at the weekend's events.
The young team fortuitously caught fire at the best possible moment, playing its best volleyball just in time to claim the championship.
"It did just take off. We didn't expect it at all, so it was fun," said sophomore Maggie McNamara.
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has been in existence now for 15 years, but this is the first time in its history a women's team has won a national championship.
It's also only the second time a team from the conference has won a national title. The Winona State men's basketball team won their title two years ago.
"I remember when Winona won, and I was like, 'That is really cool to have a team in our conference and in our state win a national championship,'" said junior Maria Steinhagen. "Now that we've done it, it seems surreal."
Perhaps it's about more than athletic talent. Last year, the team posted the top team grade point average in the country. The two could be said to go hand in hand.
"Our girls are smart. It's kind of the kids we go after when you talk about recruiting. We go after intelligent kids because, well, they're a lot easier to coach," said volleyball coach Brady Starkey.
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