HASTINGS, Neb. – Hastings had beaten both Dakota Wesleyan and Midland on its home court, so the fifth-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team understood what it was up against on the road on Saturday (Oct. 29). The Bulldogs effectively maneuvered around the stout Bronco block, hit .331 on the afternoon and swept away Hastings, 25-11, 25-17, 25-21, inside Lynn Farrell Arena. Three Concordia players produced at least 10 kills in the usual balanced performance.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad has won five consecutive matches to move to 21-3 overall (12-3 GPAC) with one match left in the regular season. The Bulldogs remain in third place in the league standings.
“We came out and executed the game plan,” Boldt said. “We set up our defense in a way that took Hastings out of its comfort zone. They made some hitting errors initially but then they made some adjustments. There were adjustments back and forth, and our team did a really good job of executing.”
At least on this day, Concordia was the superior blocking team and owned a 13-4 advantage in that category. The Bulldogs blocked five Hastings attacks in the first set alone as they set the tone for the day. Four Concordia individuals registered at least three blocks on Saturday: Gabi Nordaker (six), Morgan Nibbe (five), Carly Rodaway (four) and Camryn Opfer (three). Their efforts helped the Bulldogs run away with the first two sets before a more competitive third. It was 21-21 before Concordia went on a 4-0 run capped by Bree Burtwistle’s ace.
On the attack, Ashley Keck (11), Opfer (10) and Nordaker (10) each supplied at least 10 kills, all while hitting better than .340. The reigning NAIA National Setter of the Week Burtwistle tallied 37 assists, nine digs and two aces. In the back row, Rebecca Gebhardt cleaned up with 21 digs while Opfer chipped in with 13 digs. Their steady defensive work played a role in Hastings hitting .060 for the match. The percentage was in the red (seven kills and nine errors) in the opening set.
With a 2-0 week that included sweeps of both Mount Marty and Hastings, the Bulldogs have moved back to No. 1 nationally in hitting percentage at .280.
Said Boldt, “In practice this week we had some big blocks set up to simulate what we would see. We talked about having our feet in the right spot so we could hit high shots. That was another piece of the execution that I thought we did well. I thought we were very diverse in our offense. It wasn’t just the same attack we were coming at them with. If something went wrong for us, we would come at them with something different. I was just really proud with how we played the game.”
The Broncos (19-11, 8-7 GPAC) were paced by the 12 kills from Majesta Valasek. Hastings star outside Marlee Taylor was limited to just a single kill (compared to three errors). Miriam Miller posted 19 digs for the Broncos, who were just two spots out of the NAIA top 25 in the latest coaches’ poll. Hastings endured two straight-sets losses this regular season to Concordia.
The Bulldogs will close the regular season on Tuesday by welcoming fourth-ranked Midland (23-3, 13-2 GPAC) to Friedrich Arena for a 7:30 p.m. CT varsity first serve. The first Concordia-Midland meeting this season was a nailbiter won by the Warriors in Fremont in five sets (fifth set score of 16-14). A win for the Bulldogs on Tuesday would pull them into a tie for second place in the GPAC’s final regular season standings.