Dec. 10, 2010

Contact: Adam Samson, NAIA Sports Information and Media Services Intern, asamson@naia.org

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - (Final Bracket) For the fourth year in a row, Fresno Pacific (Calif.) took home the NAIA National Championship banner and trophy. The Sunbirds finished the 2010 National Championship without dropping a single set in six matches, claiming the top prize with a 25-20, 25-18, 25-19 sweep of the Columbia (Mo.) on Dec. 4. Heading into the championship match, the two storied programs combined for 13 title match appearances and eight first-place finishes. Dennis Janzen and the Fresno Pacific program have now won six National Championships, which is now second only to Brigham Young-Hawaii’s eight.

After collecting his sixth title in 26 years of coaching, Janzen was named the NAIA All-Tournament Coach. Fresno Pacific’s Martina Gregusova captured the Tachikara Tournament Most Valuable Player award by hitting .425 and averaging 6.0 kills per set.

Two teams that were ranked in the final Tachikara-NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll fell to unranked opponents in National Championship Opening Round matches on Nov. 20. No. 13 Indiana Tech was upset by American Mideast Conference Tournament champion Malone (Ohio) 25-22, 23-25, 27-25, 25-22. Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament champion St. Ambrose (Iowa) took down No. 17 Dordt (Iowa) 19-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-15.

Out of the nine teams making their first appearance in the event, four teams advanced on to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa, along with Briar Cliff (Iowa), who served as the host institution. Embry-Riddle (Fla.), Malone (Ohio), Oklahoma City and Rocky Mountain penciled in wins on their new National Championship resumes. The ERAU Eagles went 3-2 and were the only newcomer to advance to the single-elimination bracket.

Both teams in Sioux City who entered the postseason with undefeated records dropped their first matches of the year. Northwestern (Iowa) dropped matches against Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) and Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) in Pool D and failed to qualify for the single-elimination bracket. Lee (Tenn.), who finished ranked No. 1 in the final Tachikara-NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, dropped its first and only match of the year in the semifinals to eventual runner-up Columbia.

The 2011 National Championship final site is scheduled for Nov. 29 - Dec. 3 in Sioux City, Iowa.

Click here to view more information on the National Championship, including recaps, statistics, photos, media coverage and more.

2010 Championship Statistical Leaders (includes Opening Round) | Click Here
INDIVIDUAL, TOURNAMENT
Hitting Percentage
.472 - Keke Wang, Fresno Pacific (Calif.) (6 matches)

Kills
114 - Tabitha Henken, Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) (6 matches)

Assists
265 - Paula Ferreira, Columbia (Mo.) (6 matches)

Service Aces
13 - Bree Rauschenbach, California Baptist (5 matches)

Blocks
28 - Ana Guerra, Texas at Brownsville (5 matches: 4 solo, 24 assisted)
28 - Nicole Graybeal, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (5 matches: 5 solo, 23 assisted)

Digs
106 - Nina Kontrec, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (5 matches)