Concordia St. Paul goes for No. 10 in the DII women's volleyball championship

Sixty-four teams entered with national title aspirations, and MSU Denver and Concordia St.-Paul are all that remain in the 2025 DII women's volleyball championship. The Roadrunners stunned the DII women's volleyball world, not only taking down national powerhouse and undefeated Tampa in the semifinals, but doing so in straight sets. The Golden Bears are back in the title match for a 12th time since 2003, looking to bring home its 10th national championship. 

FOLLOW: 2025 DII women's volleyball championship: Bracket, schedule, scores

History will be made either way. We'll have a brand-new champion in MSU Denver, or Concordia St.-Paul will make women's college volleyball history, and head coach Brady Starkey won't have any space on his fingers left for a new ring. 

How to watch the DII women's volleyball championship

It's the third year in a row that the No. 1 seed did not make it to the championship match. It is also the third year in a row that the No. 4 seed is playing for the national title (those No. 4 seeds are 1-1 in the two years prior). No. 4 MSU Denver takes on the winningest DII women's volleyball championship program, No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul, at 6 p.m. ET from the Stanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. .

Concordia-St. Paul vs. MSU Denver, by the numbers

Concordia-St. Paul Athletics

The Brady Starkey era for the Golden Bears has been, well, golden. He took the helm in 2003, one year after the Golden Bears finished 24-9 and missed the tournament. Concordia-St. Paul reeled off 11-straight 30-win seasons to start Starkey's career, losing the national championship in his first year, but then winning seven in a row from 2007-13. Should they win again, the Golden Bears will break one tie with Stanford for the most women's volleyball titles, and tie Division III's WashU for the most women's volleyball national championships at any level. The Golden Bears are the benchmark for DII women's volleyball.

Now, Starkey, with yet another 30-win season sitting at 31-5, go for history. The Golden Bears look like they are on a mission ever since the tournament started. They started with straight sweeps of No. 11 Nebraska-Kearney and No. 7 Washburn before a tight match with NSIC rival St. Cloud State, winning 3-2. Both matches in the finals have come by 3-1 victories, so momentum is definitely on their side. 

Statistically speaking, the Golden Bears are strong. They posted the third-best hitting percentage in DII, as well as the second most kills and assists per set. Since the tournament moved to Sioux Falls, the Golden Bears are dominating nearly every statistical category. While outside hitter Makenna Nold, the D2CCA Central Region player of the year, has been sensational with four double-doubles in the tournament so far, it was a pair of freshmen — Kaelyn Snoozy and Audrey Waterman, who shined in the semifinals win. Concordia-St. Paul is deep and dangerous. 

MSU Denver Athletics

MSU Denver did the unthinkable. Coming into Saturday, there were just two undefeated teams in all women's college volleyball, Tampa and Nebraska. Now, there is one, as the Roadrunners, playing in their first-ever semifinals match, took down four-time national champion Tampa in straight sets, none of which were particularly close. After 25-straight NCAA DII tournament appearances — which, if the , is the third longest streak in the history of the sport behind Central Missouri (33) and Tampa (28) — the Roadrunners are finally playing for a trophy.

MSU Denver has been as dominant as Concordia St.-Paul since the tournament started. The Roadrunners pummeled their way through the South Central Region, taking down Colorado Mesa, two-time national champion West Texas A&M, and Angelo State while losing just one set along the way. They battled with Wingate in the quarterfinals, winning 3-2, before stunning the Spartans.

Alyssa Boyte leads the way, not just on the court, but with the accolades. She was named the D2CCA South Central Region middle blocker/hitter of the year, a consensus First Team All-American, the RMAC defensive player of the year as well as the RMAC tournament MVP. She also leads a tough defensive front, propelling the Roadrunners on their 22-game winning streak. You want to talk about depth? Megan Hagar was thrust into the starting lineup for the first time since the start of the season and went on to lead the team in kills in its dominating victory over Tampa.

Predicting the 2025 DII women's volleyball championship match

So, which side of history will we see? Concordia-St. Paul becoming one of the best programs in the history of women's college volleyball, or MSU Denver becoming the third-straight first-time champion in DII women's volleyball?

Both teams are deep. Both teams are uber talented. And when you look at the stats, there is very little separating the two. This is as close to a coin flip as it gets, so whichever team picked below... the other will probably win.

Prediction: Concordia St.-Paul 3, MSU Denver 2