SEWARD, Neb. – National tournament level intensity filled Friedrich Arena as Concordia University, Nebraska and Indiana Wesleyan University (teams that share the No. 3 spot in the NAIA poll) duked it out in five sets to close out an action-packed Power Quad on Saturday (Aug. 29). A service ace completed the Wildcats’ comeback in the fifth set in a heart stopper. On the day, the Bulldogs earned a win over Columbia College (Mo.), 25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18, before being edged by three-time defending national champion IWU, 25-23, 23-25, 21-25, 26-24, 17-15.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad went 2-1 on the weekend while hosting the Power Quad, which also included MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.). Concordia had been 8-0 in the three years of the Power Quad before falling to the Wildcats.
“It was a gritty match,” Boldt said. “I think a lot of the results are based on things that we can control. I think we had some opportunities where we made some uncharacteristic errors, but we’re going to have those types of growing pains. We need to continue to learn from them, continue to keep growing and keep getting better.”
Shae Williams and IWU made the plays down the stretch of the fifth set. The Bulldogs let a 13-8 advantage slip away. The fifth-set lead grew to five points when Makenna Starkey surfaced with a crowd-pleasing block. Williams responded with four kills the rest of the way. She also landed the ace that put the match on ice and finished with 20 kills. IWU was slightly better in the attacking department, claiming a .151 to .140 advantage on the attack.
The Minden, Neb., native Starkey was especially effective over the first three sets versus IWU, striking for 10 kills on first 14 swings. She finished with 11 kills and four blocks. On the outside, Shandy Fa’ali’i paced the attack with 19 kills (to go with 13 digs). Other leaders included Kyla Griess in aces (three), Myla Emery in assists (27) and digs (18) and Starkey and Bella Hedke in blocks (four).
The Wildcats (8-3) were just a bit better down the stretch. They rebounded from a five-set loss to MidAmerica Nazarene to start the day.
Said Boldt, “Indiana Wesleyan was taking some big rips, especially from the back row, and we had a tough time digging it. I thought they served the ball really well, and it kind of got us out of running a clean offense. We set a lot of balls to the outside, to the pins, so we need to shore up our serve receive so that we can get the ball to more of our middles and get them into more of a rhythm. We’ve got to stay tough with that serve receive.”
In its first match on Saturday, Concordia mounted large leads in the first and second sets before struggling to put Columbia away. Ultimately, a kill from Samantha Kimbell in the first and from Fa’ali’i in the second supplied set points. The Cougars responded by turning the tide in the third set with six blocks, four of which involved Alayna Backes. The Bulldogs regained control in the fourth set and put away 16 kills (against five errors). Fa’ali’i’s 19th kill signaled match point.
Others in double figures in kills in the win were Kimbell (13) and Danica Martin (11). Emery posted 31 assists and 19 digs. Defensively, the leaders were Emma Brueggemann with 23 digs and Hedke with four blocks. Fa’ali’i and Evert added three aces apiece.
Up next, Concordia will play three times at the College of Saint Mary Labor Day Classic the weekend of Sept. 4-5. The opponents in Omaha will be Lindsey Wilson University (Ky.), Ottawa University (Kan.) and University of Saint Francis (Ind.).
Power Quad Results
August 28
• No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan def. Columbia, 26-28, 25-15, 25-22, 25-16.
• No. 3 Concordia def. MidAmerica Nazarene, 25-20, 25-17, 25-16.
August 29
• MidAmerica Nazarene University def. No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan University, 12-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-21, 15-10.
• No. 3 Concordia University def. Columbia College, 25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18.
• Columbia College def. MidAmerica Nazarene University, 25-23, 25-14, 23-25, 25-17.
• No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan University def. Concordia University, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 24-26, 17-15.