Concordia (Calif.) Head Coach Paula Weishoff Wins 100th

The Eagles defeated Hope International, 3-0

Sept. 28, 2007

FULLERTON, Calif. - The NAIA's #3-ranked Concordia jumped all over host Hope International from the opening point and cruised to a 30-9, 30-19, 30-26 win over the Royals, Thursday evening in Golden State Athletic Conference play.

While the match itself had very few hot spots, the final result was a momentous one for Concordia head coach Paula Weishoff. The win was the 100th of her short tenure at Concordia that is now in its fourth season.

"I think this says a lot for the university," said Weishoff, whose 100-22 overall record gives her a winning percentage of .820. "If I didn't have the support that I have, there is no way we would be able to have such a successful program. I give all the success to the kids. They are the ones that have to come in and buy in. I'm just grateful that everyday they come in the gym and they work and I'm happy to be where I am."

Prior to her arrival before the 2004 season, Concordia had never won more than 19 games in a single season and had just seven winning campaigns in the 23 years of the program. In her first season, the took the Eagles to a mark of 34-6 and runner-up finish at the NAIA Tournament. The Eagles have won at least 20 games in each of three seasons, a mark that looks likely to stretch to a fourth, while she also took the Eagles to a 3rd place finish at the national tournament in 2006.

A dominating first game performance set the tone for the entire evening as the Eagles were determined to help their coach reach a milestone she was unaware of until being informed after the match. The offense came out firing on all cylinders behind tough serving from Jenna Friedrich, Jamie Friedrich and Lindsey Campbell. A 6-1 lead was quickly doubled to 12-2 and the Eagles ran away with the first frame.

As Weishoff went to the bench, she was able to find ample playing time for some of her other freshmen who will surely be featured in the future of the program. Lauren Evans came on to have another fine outing with three kills on just four swings while Allie Macy tallied four kills, three digs and two blocks.

"We talked before that we needed to execute and on Tuesday that we just got by," said Weishoff. "They came out, they knew what they needed to do, they did it and we came out in game one and they executed really well."

Amber Ridens led all players with 10 kills to go along with three blocks for the Eagles, who had six players register at least four kills. Stephanie Scheele added seven while Traci Weamer and Jamie Friedrich each had six. Bailey Schade led the defensive effort with six blocks while Jamie Friedrich tossed in 10 digs.

Debbie Beliakoff had five kills for Hope International (3-7, 1-6 GSAC). Jocelyn Moya had a match-high 12 digs while Larissa Niu dished out 20 assists to go along with three kills and two blocks.