Concordia volleyball sweeps College of Saint Mary on the road

Members of the team who are on the court huddle up after a successful play to congratulate one another (photo from previous match).

Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh

By Cohen Carpenter

The newly ranked No. 3 team in the nation bested yet another Great Plains Athletic Conference opponent on the road as Concordia swept the College of Saint Mary Wednesday night, 29-27, 25-16, 25-22.

The win marks the 10th road win of the year for the Bulldogs, improving their road record to a healthy 10-1, with their only loss coming early in the season versus at the time, No. 14 ranked Bellevue in Omaha. In conference play, Concordia remains perfect outside Friedrich Arena this season.

Versus the Flames, Concordia continued to display their stifling offense, which remains among the nation’s best. On the night, the Bulldogs hit .347 as a team, with their best single-set showing coming in the first, where the visitors hit .426 as a team with 23 kills and only three errors.

Thanks to the dominant effort, the Bulldogs maintained their imposing position as one of the nation’s best offenses. Concordia currently ranks second in the GPAC, hitting .248 as a team. Other than Northwestern, no other team in the conference is hitting more than .200.

“It was an offensive battle tonight,” said Coach Ben Boldt after the win Wednesday, “It was a fun one to watch. It’s always tough to get a ball down on the College of Saint Mary. Towards the end there, there were a couple balls that we got a pretty good hold of and they got them up. We had to stay patient and work hard to get ourselves in positions to attack. We needed to lean on our strength of offense tonight.”

That strength was on full display Wednesday as five Bulldogs boasted six or more kills.

Leading the way for Concordia was junior Ashley Keck who turned in another stellar performance with 15 kills, eight digs and one block on .316 shooting.

Right by her side was fellow junior Addie Kirkegaard who also put up 15 kills while leading the team in hitting percentage at .426. Kirkegaard’s kill numbers in Omaha marks a career high for the Hastings, Nebraska native.

The breakout performance highlights what has been a breakout year for Kirkegaard. The right side hitter, who appeared in only eight matches (10 total sets) in 2023, is currently 4th on the team in kills with 163.

In the backline, Concordia’s potent pair of setters continued to lead the way in assists. Juniors Savannah Shelburne, 20, and Lily Psenick, 25, combined for 45 of the team’s 51 total assists.

One substantial area of improvement for the Bulldogs was the play at the net. Leading into the game, Concordia had two seemingly lack luster games when it came to the blocking totals. Despite winning both marchers versus Briar Cliff and Morningside, the Bulldogs only totaled 14 blocks across seven total sets. That story changed Wednesday as Concordia matched that total in one game against the Flames.

Junior Kya Scott and senior Gabi Nordaker were the most menacing presences up front as the two combined for nine blocks and 15 kills.

All in all, the College of Saint Mary game proved to be one of the more well-rounded Bulldog performances of the year – an energy they hope to bring to their upcoming matchup versus Dordt.

The Defenders, who are 13-9 on the year, will host the Bulldogs in Sioux Center, Iowa on Saturday, October 19. First touch will be at 5pm.