NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. – The record remains unblemished for the second-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team, which finished off both Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) and Mayville State University (N.D.) in straight sets on Friday (Sept. 1). The biggest scare of the day came in a second set that the Bulldogs somehow pulled out of the fire versus the veteran Mayville State squad. Behind 24 kills apiece from Camryn Opfer and Ashley Keck on the day, Concordia won by scores of 25-17, 25-16, 25-19, over Rocky Mountain and 25-20, 26-24, 25-21, over Mayville State in North Sioux City, S.D.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad has moved to 6-0 with five of those victories coming outside of league play. All matches this weekend are taking place at the CNOS Fieldhouse as part of the CSM/United Sports Academy Labor Day Classic.
“It was definitely good to see our team’s grit,” Boldt said of the matchup with Mayville State. “In that second set, we showed fight, played good defense and played clean. I thought our offense looked good, we passed really well and kept in system. The biggest thing was we stuck with it and stayed gritty throughout the match.”
The Bulldogs brought heaters from the outsides on this particular day. Precision passing helped set Opfer and Keck up for success. In the snappy win over Rocky Mountain, Keck drilled 14 kills on 28 swings and Opfer delivered 13 kills on 33 attempts. By day’s end, Opfer pushed her career kill total to 1,331 and moved past Rachel (Kirchner) Miller for No. 4 on the program’s all-time list. Opfer and company bullied the Battlin’ Bears by hitting .323. Bree Burtwistle (43 assists) also found Carly Rodaway for 10 kills on the right side and Gabi Nordaker for eight in the middle.
A national tournament qualifier in five of the past seven seasons, Rocky Mountain (6-4) did not have a counter for Concordia’s powerful attack. It was led by 14 kills from Makenna Bushman. On the flip side, Becca Gebhardt (16) and Opfer (13) both reached double figures in digs. From the service line, the Bulldogs totaled seven aces to zero for Rocky Mountain. Burtwistle landed three aces herself.
Mayville State is not receiving votes nationally, but perhaps it will be at some point. The Comets (3-1) supplied some serious resistance. The second set looked like it would go to Mayville State, which led it 24-19. Concordia managed to put itself in an advantageous rotation that had the Comets reeling. The Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run to win the set with point Nos. 23 and 24 coming via blocks from the combination of Nordaker and Rodaway. Concordia also notched the final four points of the third set after Mayville State had tied it, 21-21.
Opfer (11), Keck (10) and Rodaway (10) all reached double figures in kills in the second match. Rodaway hit .529 from the right side. In the middle, Nordaker and Maddie Paulsen added seven kills apiece. Burtwistle tacked on 43 more assists while leading an attack that hit .295 versus Mayville State. In addition, Nordaker got in on five blocks and Gebhardt (12) and Lexie Kreizel (10) hit double digits in digs. The Comets were limited to a .188 hitting percentage.
At least so far this season, Bulldog attackers have been too hot to handle. Said Boldt, “We’re taking really good swings. When we’re in system, we’re putting heat on the ball. Out of system, we’re staying aggressive. I think we’re taking some of the best out-of-system swings that we’ve taken since I’ve been here. We’re putting the ball on the money on out-of-system sets. We’re really driving to the ball and being physical.”
Two more matches are coming up Saturday for the Bulldogs, who will take on Kansas Wesleyan University at 11 a.m. CT and then sixth-ranked Park University (Mo.) at 5 p.m. The clash with Park will be a rematch from the 2022 national tournament, which saw the Pirates advance to the NAIA quarterfinals. Park will mark the third top 25 opponent on the slate so far.