SIOUX CITY, IA --- The NAIA's No. 4-ranked Concordia not only punched its ticket to the NAIA Semifinals with a 25-19, 24-26, 30-28, 25-18 win over Azusa Pacific. The Eagles got a taste of redemption that they hope will carry into the final day at the NAIA National Championships.

If the Eagles (30-7) are to play into their third NAIA National Championships title match (which would be held tomorrow night at 6 p.m. PST), they will have to do something they haven't done since the Quarterfinal round of 2004--beat Fresno Pacific.

Tomorrow's semifinal match--Concordia's fourth consecutive appearance in that round--will pit CUI against Fresno Pacific, which has swept the Eagles twice in 2009 and brings in a record of 36-0.

The showdown also marks a rematch of last year's tournament final, where the Sunbirds held on for a 3-2 win over the Eagles to claim the NAIA title.

"Our mindset is going to be one of having nothing to lose," head coach Kyle Kvasnicka said. "We're going to go out and give it all that we have. We're fired up to play them in this situation, especially the players who were a part of last year's team. We're going to give it our best shot and hopefully we can pull it off this time."

But back to the Quarterfinal victory, where Concordia more than made up for the three-game sweep that Azusa Pacific (28-9) handed the Eagles to close out the regular season Oct. 31.

Although CUI cruised to bookend victories of 25-19 and 25-18, the middle sets were a test of endurance for both teams--and a last stand for APU, which played into the Quarterfinals with a sweep of Indiana Tech earlier in the day after playing at 8 p.m. Thursday night.

Freshman opposite Brooke Marino--who stayed scalding hot with 14 kills, along with senior outside hitter Stephanie Darnall--notched a kill to bring the second set to set-point, at 24-23, but APU battled back to tie the score at 24-24 on a kill from Marguerite Hanna, then took advantage of a pair of Concordia hitting errors to tie the match at a game apiece with the 26-24 win.

The third set didn't look very promising at all, as APU built up a 17-10 lead after an ace by Amy Alkazin. CUI fought back, though, thanks to three kills from Darnall and a pair of aces by junior opposite Amber Ridens, and tied the score at 19-19 on an ace by junior outside hitter Alexandra Barsotti.

Freshman middle blocker Amy Van Buren and Ridens teamed up for a block that gave Concordia a slight lead, at 20-19, but APU tied the set at 20-20, and the score was tied at every point until the Marino swatted two consecutive kills that set up a set-ending ace from senior libero Jenna Salo at 30-28.

"Brooke has played really well for four matches. It's definately nice to see that," Kvasnicka said. "I'm not too surprised, since I've seen her step up like this before in club, but she's carrying us right now. We're really getting a team effort from everyone, and hopefully we can carry that over for tomorrow against Fresno."

Overall, Concordia ripped nine service aces (including six from Ridens, four from Marino and three from Barsotti), and picked up eight team blocks, including six block assists from Van Buren.

The win gives CUI a 30-win season for the fifth time in school history, including the fourth year in a row.

Tomorrow's match(es) will be carried via video feed at http://www.watchnaia.com/, and livestats will again be available at www.cbulancers.com. 

Photos from the tournament can be found at the Photo Gallery link at cuieagles.com, or by clicking here. The photos are courtesy of Don Van Buren, Joe Reinsch and Gene Knudsen, whose images can be found at www.siouxlandsportsauthority.com.