SEWARD, Neb. – Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball and its whiteout crowd were ready for 16th-ranked Midland. The Bulldogs stifled the Warrior attack to the tune of an unsightly -.025 hitting percentage on the strength of a 7-2 blocking advantage. Concordia sent its rival from nearby packing, 25-19, 25-18, 25-17, on Wednesday (Sept. 9) night. Midland finished with more attack errors than kills.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad improved to 10-2 overall while boosting its series win streak over the Warriors to seven. The Bulldogs were stronger at the net in the latest matchup.
“Defensively, I thought it was great,” Boldt said. “I thought we controlled the net. We forced them into making some decisions that they maybe didn't want to make. They had more errors than they had kills. I think some of that is them—they're getting better—and I think some of that is our block kind of forcing them into tough situations. It wasn't the most efficient attacking night, but it still felt good because defensively we were suffocating tonight.”
In his postgame remarks, Boldt referred back to the very first point of the match – an Abree Plueger attack that was stuffed by the Concordia combination of Samantha Kimbell and Bella Hedke. The Warriors never did find much traction, posting respective set-by-set hitting percentages of -.089, -.047 and .097. Star Midland outside hitter Brooklynn Snyder wound up with three kills compared to five attack errors on her 17 attempts.
The blocking contributions were spread across the Bulldog front row as Laynee Baker, Hedke and Maddie Paulsen were in on two each while Kimbell and Makenna Starkey were credited with one apiece. On the right side, Baker has popped with ‘wow’ moments over several recent outings. Her stuff in the third set made it an 8-2 lead, inciting a roar from Ben Boldt on the sideline.
Concordia played cleaner with 33 kills compared to 16 errors. The freshman Kimbell led the way with 10 kills as the Bulldogs hit .149 as a team. Setters Myla Emery (13 assists) and Ella Brueggemann (11 assists) teed the ball up for Kimbell and company.
Overall, this was one of the Bulldogs’ finest outings yet this fall. Said Baker, “I think that really goes toward our preparation. We did a lot of scouting on the other team. We came in, did our pregame routine, were very focused, knew our game plan and executed it very well.”
Added Boldt, “We were really being disciplined with the edges of our block. We talk about ‘press and hold,’ and if our hands start to get inside, we create lanes for attackers to hit around. When we're really disciplined with what our hands are doing, it works out well.”
Junior outside hitter Shandy Fa’ali’i chipped in seven kills and eight digs for the victors. From the service line, Concordia continues to come hard at its opponents. It bombed away for eight aces, including three from the Clara Evert, who made the ball dance on Wednesday. From the back row, setters Emery and Bruggemann led the way with 13 and 12 digs, respectively.
Midland dropped to 9-4 overall. The Warriors claimed five wins over ranked opponents during the nonconference portion of their schedule and leapt from 20th in the preseason to 16th in the first regular season NAIA coaches’ poll.
The week inside Friedrich Arena will continue on Saturday when College of Saint Mary (12-3, 2-0 GPAC) will make a stop in town. First serve of the varsity match is set for 3 p.m. CT. In Wednesday night action, the Flames took care of Doane in three sets. The Bulldogs have won each of the past four meetings with CSM.