SEWARD, Neb. – The hitting percentages weren’t pretty on Saturday (Sept. 27), but this Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball team didn’t seem to mind. The second-ranked Bulldogs played just a bit cleaner than the opposition while dispatching of Dordt in a competitive straight-sets clash, 25-20, 25-23, 25-23, inside Friedrich Arena. Prior to first serve, Concordia honored a class of 10 seniors, each of whom saw action on Saturday. Autumn Deterding made her first varsity appearance and started the match.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad improved to 13-1 overall and remained unbeaten in league play (6-0). Dating back to last season, the program has won 16 straight GPAC regular season matches.
“I’m proud of our team for staying resilient,” Boldt said. “Dordt’s a really good team, and they’ve had some good wins this year. They’re a physical team, they play hard and they’re well-coached. You never quite know how your team is going to respond on a senior day. I thought we did a great job of locking in this week.”
Having played No. 6 Northwestern to five sets earlier this season, Dordt (12-5, 3-3 GPAC) had Concordia’s attention. Nothing was easy on Saturday as the Bulldogs never hit above .150 in any of the three sets. In the opening set, Concordia roared back from a 12-6 deficit. In the middle, Ava Greene starred as she floored back-to-back kills to stop the Defender run and then put away another kill for set point. The kills were difficult to come back. Ultimately, the Bulldogs outhit Dordt, .111 to .049.
The final two sets were nailbiters. Concordia finally put the Defenders away with the help of another set-point kill from Greene and then thanks to a service error for match point. Dordt showed grit of its own in going toe-to-toe with the Bulldogs across the spectrum of statistical categories. Concordia held slight advantages in kills, 35-32, and digs, 57-52. Both teams finished with seven blocks. The Defenders were led by the seven kills from Payton Doenhoefer.
It was the typical balanced effort from the Bulldogs, who got a team best 10 kills from Ashley Keck. The Kearney, Neb., native rotated for a particularly booming kill late in the third set. She added 10 digs and two blocks to her stat line. Other statistical leaders included Ella Brueggemann in assists (18), Emma Brueggemann in digs (18) and Greene in blocks (four). Four Concordia players recorded one ace apiece. In addition, five kills or more came from Kya Scott (six), Greene (six) and Molli Martin (five).
Said Boldt, “I felt like we were urgent and we had purpose. We had to settle into the match a little bit and figure out who we needed to attack and key in on. They’re a good serving team, so we really had to focus on coming back to coming back to the fundamental of calling the ball first, not hesitating and locking in on our passing and keeping the ball in the middle of the court. Late in every single set, that was a reminder for our team. They executed and finished it out.”
The seniors that were honored prior to the match are Autumn Deterding, Kate Griess, Sydney Jelinek, Ashley Keck, Addie Kirkegaard, Molli Martin, Lily Psencik, Kya Scott, Savannah Shelburne and Ella Waters. A transfer from Washburn University (Kan.), Waters has the option to return in 2026. Collectively, the group has contributed to 90 wins since the start of the 2022 season.
Said Keck of her senior day experience, “I’m happy as can be. This is my second family. We talked about wanting to ‘out-family’ the other team this year. I think that win today shows who we are as a family more than a team. We compete with each other and be there for each other in big moments so we can put away a game like that.”
The format next week will shift to Friday-Saturday action as the Bulldogs look forward to a trip to Sioux City, Iowa. Concordia will play at Morningside (9-7, 3-3 GPAC) on Oct. 3 before taking to the home court of Briar Cliff (8-8, 2-4 GPAC) on Oct. 4.