Concordia volleyball sweeps Tigers in three-set Wednesday match
Junior right side Addie Kierkegaard (8) spikes the ball over the net as senior middle Gabi Nordaker (11) looks on and prepares for the opposing team’s return (photo from previous match).
Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh
By Cohen Carpenter
The Dawgs continued to remain dominant over Doane last night with yet another sweep of the Tigers, winning 25-16, 25-21, 25-10, across three sets.
The Wednesday night game in Crete improved not only Concordia’s conference record (5-0) but its rivalry record as well, with the Bulldogs winning 12 of the last 13 matchups with their in-state conference foe.
Concordia, who came into the match ranked second in Great Plains Athletic Conference hitting percentage (.245), only trailing Northwestern (.252), put up another efficient performance on their side of the net, hitting .300 on the game as a whole. This total marks their highest so far in conference play, and their most efficient game since Aug. 31, where they hit .339 against Oklahoma Panhandle State over a three-set sweep.
“We passed the ball really well last night,” said head coach of the Bulldogs, Ben Boldt. “That allowed us to have multiple options to attack. Our setters did a great job of putting the ball to the open attacker and we put the ball away. It’s a full team effort to be an efficient attacking team.”
The stats certainly support Boldt’s assertions. Six Bulldogs had five or more kills last night while four of those six had a hitting percentage north of .300. Leading the way for Concordia, in both total attempts and in total kills, was Ashley Keck. The stellar night adds to the already stellar week that the junior from Kearney, Nebraska is having, winning both GPAC attacker and defender of the week last week.
“Ashley’s preparation for each match really sets her apart,” said Boldt, “She works really hard in the practice gym as well as the weight room to put her in the best position to be confident on the floor.”
Alongside Keck, Concordia boasted extremely efficient performances from senior Gabi Nordaker (seven kills while hitting .462), sophomore Ella Waters (five kills, four blocks while hitting .308) and sophomore Ava Greene (seven kills, four blocks while hitting .357).
Much of the production by the net was, once again, facilitated by Concordia’s setters. It was the usual one-two punch again for the Bulldogs as junior duo of Savannah Shelburne and Lily Psencik contributed 35 of the Bulldogs’ 43 assists with 20 and 15, respectively.
Away from the net was senior Cassidy Knust who led the way with 13 digs and also led the team with a pair of service aces. Right behind Knust was the senior Rebecca Gebhardt, with nine digs of her own.
The match proved to be one of Concordia’s most complete and well-rounded performances of the season, exactly what they needed before heading into one of their most fearsome matchups yet. Next time out, the No. 4-ranked Bulldogs are hosting the best in the nation, the No. 1-ranked Northwestern Red Raiders for Homecoming.
“We are excited about our match versus Northwestern,” said Boldt, “We will have to serve and pass really well throughout the match. We also have to be physical at the net, which means our block has to be strong and our attackers must be aggressive. Lastly, we must play with joy and grit and stick together as a group.”
The Red Raiders are undefeated on the season, boasting a 15-0 record, and they have only seen a fifth set twice this year (winning 3-2 versus No. 16 Indiana University Kokomo and winning 3-2 versus Bushnell to open the season). Two members of Northwestern’s front line, Jazlin Douma and Alysen Dexter are first and second in kills per set in the GPAC and Zavyr Metzger, another Northwestern middle hitter, is first in the GPAC in blocks per set. All that being said, the Bulldogs, and all of Seward for that matter, are in for an exciting contest.
First touch for what could be a GPAC championship game preview is at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Friedrich Arena.
