Concordia falls to Baker and Grand View in opening day of Bruin Classic

Concordia University dropped two matches at the Bruin Labor Day Classic Volleyball Tournament on Friday in Bellevue.  The Bulldogs suffered losses to Baker University and Grand View to drop to 2-5 on the year.  

Baker cruised to a 3-0 win in the opening match of the day.  Scores were 25-19, 25-17 and 25-13.  Savannah Smith and Jasmyn Turner each delivered eight kills to lead the way for Baker.  Taryn Brees added seven kills.  Jana Boss finished with a match-high 29 set assists, and Brooke Allen led the way defensively with 13 digs. 

Amanda Abbott (Temecula, Calif.) finished with a team-best six kills for Concordia in the loss.  Marlee Denton (Fremont, Neb.) added five kills, while Kayla James (Gibbon, Neb.) handed out 13 set assists, and Carli Smith (Temecula, Calif.) totaled a match-high 19 digs for the Bulldogs. 

Devon Jensen pounded a match-high 17 kills to lead Grand View to the 3-0 win on Friday evening.  Scores of the match were 25-18, 25-18 and 25-10.  Aly Smith added seven kills, while Jessica Garland and Paige Harris each had 16 set assists for Grand View, who finished with a .341 attack percentage in the win. 

Concordia was led by Amanda Kisker’s 12 kills.  Kisker, a junior from Lincoln, also totaled 10 digs to finish with a double-double.  Denton added five kills for the Bulldogs, who finished with a .066 attack percentage in the loss.  Alexa Hopping (Sutherland, Neb.) finished with 15 set assists for Concordia. 

The Bulldogs will be back in action on Saturday with two more matches at the Bruin Classic.  Concordia faces Viterbo and College of Saint Mary on Saturday.