Dec. 5, 2009

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Defending national champion Fresno Pacific (Calif.) held off a late surge by fourth-seeded Concordia (Calif.) to prevail in five sets, 25-18, 25-23, 20-25, 22-25, 15-11, Saturday to earn a spot in the championship match of the NAIA Volleyball National Championship Presented by Siouxland Sports Medicine Foundation in the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena. The match will begin at 8 p.m. CST and will be video-streamed at www.watchnaia.com and live stats will be available here.

Fresno Pacific will put its 37-0 record on the line in Saturday's title match. For the Sunbirds, it is their fourth consecutive appearance in the finals and seventh in the program's history. Twenty-five year head coach Dennis Janzen has guided Fresno Pacific to the championship match in 1989, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, winning the title in 1989, 2003, 2007 and 2008.

The Sunbirds exploded in the first set, hitting .458 to easily pick up the 25-18 win. Concordia narrowed the margin of loss in the second set, falling 25-23, and were able to capitalize in the third set 25-20. The Eagles had five kills from Amber Ridens and Brooke Marino punctuated the third set with an ace. Concordia also benefited from seven Sunbird hitting miscues and a .000 hitting percentage to push the match to a fourth stanza. The fourth set saw the score tie 14 times and there were six lead changes, but in the end it was the Eagles who took their second-straight set at 25-22. Fresno Pacific was able to regain its hot hitting, posting a .412 clip in the fifth set to take the match.

The five-setter was the fifth of the season for the Sunbirds.

Fresno Pacific's hitters had their best showing in the tournament, with four players finishing with double-figure kills. Ke Ke Wang pounded down 16 kills, followed by Martina Gregusova with 15. Lisa Shilling provided the Sunbirds with her first double-figure kill performance of the national championship with 11 and Lauren Albertson recorded 10 kills. Teaming together to direct the hitters were Erika Adachi and Emily Carroll, handing out 32 and 23 assists, respectively. Mariah Mandelbaum held a strong defense with 26 digs.

Stephanie Darnall posted a double-double in the loss for Concordia with 13 kills and 11 digs. Two other Eagles registered double-figure kills with Marino posting a team-high 16 and Ridens with 13. Concordia was limited to a .185 hitting percentage in the match. Renee Horton had 27 assists and Vanessa Perry also dished out 22.

The Eagles conclude their season with a 30-8 record.