SEWARD, Neb. – It was one of those nights for Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball. The NAIA third-ranked Bulldogs were denied an eighth straight GPAC semifinal appearance by Dakota Wesleyan. Seeded seventh in the conference tournament, the Tigers brushed off a rough start and left Friedrich Arena with the win, 14-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-21, on Saturday (Nov. 7) evening. DWU overcame 11 blocks from Concordia sophomore Makenna Starkey.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad will be tasked with responding to losses in two of its past three home outings. The Bulldogs will carry a 23-5 overall record into national tournament play.
“Super frustrating,” Boldt said. “Hats off to Dakota Wesleyan. They were really taking rips out there, especially on that dog set behind the setter. It's a tough play to defend when it's flowing, and it was definitely flowing for them tonight. Defensively, there was so much pressure in that first set. But even in that set, if it wasn't a clean block for us, Dakota Wesleyan was still getting some clean hits in there.”
DWU had to find a way to work around the block of Starkey, who was dominant in the first set when she rose above the net for seven of her match-high 11 stuffs. Concordia was clearly the cleaner team during that stretch, striking for 13 kills against just two errors (.407 hitting percentage) in the opening frame.
Instead of crumbling on the road, the Tigers (19-10) displayed grit. The Bulldogs struggled to get the ball down, hitting in the red in both the second (-.081) and third (-.068) sets. DWU found traction in its own blocking efforts (led by eight blocks from Natalie Heuertz) and got strong play as usual in the back row from reigning GPAC Libero of the Year Lizzie Tyler (match-high 19 digs). Long rallies became the norm.
The “dog set” Boldt referenced entailed the action of Tiger attacker Karly VanDerWerff gliding from left to right across the net. Spurred by setter Kayleigh Hybertson (39 assists), VanDerWerff put away a match-high 12 kills while hitting .321. Keatyn Liebsack posted 11 kills of her own. DWU stamped out Concordia’s hopes of forcing a fifth set when VanDerWerff and Hybertson combined on a block for match point.
Concordia will have a couple of weeks to stew on the GPAC quarterfinal loss. The Boldts will use it as another teachable moment. Said Ben Boldt, “When we get down to tournament time, I really hope this is a learning moment for our team. It's got to be about executing in the big moments. Teams aren't just going to roll over, so we have to continue to score and earn our points. We can't wait for the other team to make errors. We have to be tight with our execution.”
For the match, the Bulldogs hit .067. The connections weren’t clicking as normal, although Shandy Fa’ali’i gritted her way to a team-high 10 kills. Samantha Kimbell chipped in with nine. Ella Brueggemann recorded 23 assists. In the back row, Fa’ali’i and Jenna Sladky both produced 18 digs. In addition to Starkey, Maddie Paulsen (seven block assists) was active on the block. Notably, the Tigers limited Concordia to only two aces, four days after it pelted Doane with 14 aces in the regular season finale.
DWU will move on to play at No. 3 seed Morningside in the GPAC semifinals on Wednesday. On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded Northwestern will host No. 5 seed Dordt in a rivalry clash.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs will await the national tournament selections scheduled for Monday, Nov. 16. As a top-five ranked team, Concordia is likely to host an NAIA National Championship Opening round match on Saturday, Nov. 21. Opening round winners advance to play at the NAIA National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa (Dec. 2-8).