Concordia volleyball ends season with five-set loss against Bellevue Bruins
The Concordia varsity volleyball team prepares to be introduced to the fans (photo from previous match)
Photo credit: Maddy Peters
By Cohen Carpenter
Concordia’s march to the top of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics volleyball world ended prematurely Saturday afternoon after the Bellevue University Bruins went the distance with the Bulldogs, winning in five sets, 21-25, 26-24, 14-25, 25-18, 15-12.
The rematch between these two teams went two sets longer than the original August 30th matchup in which an, at the time No. 12 ranked Bellevue, swept Concordia in three sets.
Both teams had stretches of dominance throughout the match, with the fourth seeded Bulldogs winning the third set by 11 points, a frame that featured 17 Concordia kills and two service aces without a single error, numbers which explain the game-high hitting percentage of .486. From that point onward however, Bellevue stole the show, going on to hit .405 in the fourth and .345 in the fifth and final set of the match.
As the game went on, the Concordia offense proved to be the more potent, with the Bulldogs having 13 more total attacks from the first set onward, a 159 to 146 advantage. The only sets in which the Bulldogs trailed the Bruins were the first, in which they lost by four, and the third, where they won by 11.
The plurality of these attempts came from junior Ashley Keck. The outside hitter and team leader in kills was good for 54 tries in the quarterfinal matchup, the most for either team. Of those 54, 18 hit the deck, good for a .204 hitting percentage. Keck also led the squad in digs with 24.
Right behind her in terms of sheer output was Kya Scott, who had 13 kills on 46 attempts. The junior out of Broken Bow, Nebraska truly made her presence known on the defensive end however, as she led the team with five blocking assists – contributing almost half of the team’s 12 total blocking assists.
However, the true brunt of the loss was bore by this season’s seniors. As the match brought the 2024 season to a close, so too did it bring an end to some Bulldogs’ volleyball careers. Program staples such as Rebecca Gebhardt and Gabi Nordaker, Macy McClain and Cassidy Knust, Ashlyn Wischmeier, Kelsi Heard and Delaney Novy, most of whom have been a Bulldog almost as long as head coach Ben Boldt.
Longest tenured of the seniors is Gabi Nordaker. Making her first appearance in the 2020 season, the All-American Omaha native has been a highlight of the program ever since her first GPAC Attacker of the Week award back in September of 2020. Nordaker finished the quarterfinal matchup doing what she has done best this season, leading the team in hitting percentage. Going 14 for 26, Nordaker also boasted four blocking assists and two digs.
Away from the net, the junior-duo of Lily Psencik and Savannah Shelburne combined for 59 assists, with 29 and 30 respectively, with both of the setters having a service ace to boot.
The match brings to a close another impressive and star-studded Concordia volleyball season. With 15 scholar-athletes, six all-conference selections, and one GPAC Attacker of the Year, the Bulldogs finish 2024 with a 15-1 record in the conference, a program best, a sixth straight season making the NAIA National Tournament and a fifth straight season of cracking the top 10 in the NAIA rankings. All-in-all, while the ending left more to be desired, nobody will be able to deny the accomplishment and pride the 2024 Bulldogs brought to Concordia University.
