Bulldog Volleyball Triumphs in Close Match with Morningside
By Nicholas Boys
The Concordia volleyball team took down Morningside College in four sets at home on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs prevailed in a close match with scores of 15-25, 25-18, 25-16 and 27-25.
The Bulldogs relied on big offensive performances from freshman Morgan Nibbe, who finished leading the team with 14 kills, and senior Jenna Habegger who contributed 13 kills of her own. Junior Emmie Noyd also chipped in with 11 kills, and sophomore setter Tara Callahan was strong with 41 assists.
After losing nine of their last ten matches, the victory was a nice reprieve for the Bulldogs.
“Tonight we communicated a lot better; our focus was a lot sharper, and we didn’t let balls hit the floor,” Habegger said.
The Bulldogs started slow dropping the first set but were able to bounce back nicely and take the next three for victory. They were strong defensively for the majority of the night as they scrambled well to extend points and force mistakes from the opposition. Sophomore Marissa Hoerman led the way on defense with 15 digs along with junior Alex La Plant who had 13 of her own.
“We didn’t start off right out of the gate tonight, so we can definitely improve there, and we can always get better at our communication and focus,” Habegger said.
For Morningside, the bulk of their offense came from junior Emma Gerber who had 14 kills and sophomore Krista Zenk who contributed 12.
The Bulldogs will face rival Doane University in their next match on Wed., Oct. 31 in Crete. The Bulldogs still have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championships if they defeat Doane on Wednesday.
