SEWARD, Neb. – In its first home appearance in more than three weeks, the Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball team put on a masterclass. The second-ranked Bulldogs overwhelmed visiting College of Saint Mary in the first and second sets on the way to a second straight sweep to open conference play. Concordia won inside Friedrich Arena on Wednesday (Sept. 10), 25-8, 25-13, 25-18, while outhitting the Flames, .309 to -.016.
Whatever Head Coach Ben Boldt and his staff did to prepare their team for this one, it worked. Afterwards, Boldt struggled to find anything to nitpick. The Bulldogs have moved to 9-1 overall (2-0 GPAC).
“We played really well. We played really efficiently,” Boldt said. “We executed our game plan. I thought that we were locked in tonight. I can’t argue with a lot of stuff that happened. We need to continue to be detail-oriented and we want to continue to bring our best and be ready to go when our name’s called.”
Twelve points into the match, CSM had already exhausted its two first-set timeouts. The advantage for the home team ballooned to 20-4 when Ella Brueggemann landed a kill on the setter dump. The tone had been established. Concordia hit a blistering .367 (14 kills to three errors) in the first set and made it a runaway. The statistics told the story as the Bulldogs held significant advantages in kills, 44-20, blocks, 7-2, aces, 5-2, and digs, 73-52.
In continuing a theme this 2025 season, Concordia stifled the opposition’s attack. While hitting in the red, the Flames (7-5, 0-2 GPAC) must have felt as though there were eight or nine Bulldogs on the other side of the net. Libero Emma Brueggemann dug 23 attacks and do-it-all All-American Ashley Keck added 13 of her own. At the net, Ava Greene posted six blocks in another starring defensive effort.
As usual, the attack was spread around. Keck paced the team with 12 kills (on 31 swings). Three teammates posted at least five kills, including Kya Scott (seven), Ella Waters (six) and Molli Martin (five). The team’s array of hitters thrived as three different setters again saw action, led by Ella Brueggemann with 18 assists. Ella Brueggemann equaled Shandy Faalii with two aces as part of an aggressive approach from the service line.
Four days earlier, CSM fell at home in five sets to Midland. Not a single Flame registered more than four kills on Wednesday. All-conference middle blocker Azaria Green went for four kills on 14 attempts. Green and company put together their best stretch of play in the third set when they built an 11-8 lead. But Concordia quickly responded and later rattled off the match’s final five points. The Bulldogs have won three straight meetings over the rival Flames, who finished last season at 16-14 overall (7-9 GPAC).
On this night, it would have taken an exceptional effort to compete with the Bulldogs on their home floor. Said Boldt, “Tonight, we were dialed in. We put our hands over the net where we needed to blocking-wise. It was very efficient tonight. It felt good … I’m really proud of the team. We’ve had a number of different lineups out there. I love this team. I love how they support each other and I love this process of (going through) a season. We’re going to have our challenges. There are going to be tough moments, but we all have each other’s back.”
The Bulldogs will have the weekend off from competition while looking ahead to next Wednesday night’s clash with rival and 17th-ranked Midland (7-5, 2-0 GPAC). First serve of the varsity match is set for 7:30 p.m. CT from Friedrich Arena. Concordia took all three 2024 meetings from the Warriors, including one that took place in the GPAC tournament semifinals.