The Concordia University, Nebraska volleyball team picked up a pair of wins in their final regular season home games this weekend. The Bulldogs swept Dakota Wesleyan University on Friday night and defeated the University of Sioux Falls, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon in Seward. With the win on Friday the Bulldogs reached the 20-win plateau for the third consecutive season. Overall, Concordia is now 21-9 overall (8-4 GPAC) and have won eight consecutive matches.
On Friday Concordia made quick work of Dakota Wesleyan, sweeping the Tigers (30-21, 30-24, 30-17). The Bulldogs jumped out to early leads in games one and two, but in game two the Tigers came back to pull within one, 13-12, after trailing by as many as much as 8-1. Concordia struggled as a team in the second game, hitting just .162 after putting up a impressive .394 in the opener.
In the final game the Tigers made things interesting keeping within one until midway through the game. Concordia then went on a seven-to-one run to put some distance between them and DWU. Concordia, who it a red-hot .444, then closed the game on a 12-3 run, sealing the match.
Sophomore Dani Hoagland led the Bulldogs with 11 kills, hitting .450 on the night. Jacki Chandler led Concordia defensively with 10 digs and had just one reception error on 22 attempts.
For Dakota Wesleyan, Kalie Whealy led the way with seven kills. Whealy also finished with four solo and four assist blocks for Dakota Wesleyan.
On Saturday, after honoring the two Bulldog seniors (Katie Werner and Kate Brown) prior to the match, Concordia picked up their second win in as many days defeating the University of Sioux Falls Cougars, 3-1, (-25, 22-30, -22, -21).
Concordia led start to finish in the opening game, jumping out to an 8-3 advantage as Sioux Falls was never able to close the gap. The Cougars bounced back to take game two thanks in part to a 5-0 after a tie at five. Concordia was never able to close the game, as they hit just .062 as a team.
In the third game the Bulldogs closed the game with a 14-4 run. The deciding game was all Concordia as they jumped out to an 8-0 advantage and never looked back, leading by as many as 13.
Werner paced Concordia, hitting a blistering .483 en route to a game-high 16 kills. She also added four solo and four assist blocks. Sophomore Kelli Ziegler continued to add to her triple-double total for the season, finishing with 13 kills, 29 set assists and 10 digs. Also reaching double digits in kills was junior Heidi Zoucha who notched 10 kills. Chandler led the way defensively with 17 digs.
Sioux Falls had two players reach double-digit kills, Jamie Gerdes (13) and Beth Mathes (12). The duo also led the Cougars in the dig department, finishing with 11 and 16 respectively.
The Bulldogs finish the regular season with a four game road swing, facing three teams in the top five of the GPAC standings, including Morningside and Hastings. Concordia faces Hastings on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Hastings, Neb.
