3-0 at the Power Quad in Indiana! pic.twitter.com/vZHFW3MGHW
— Concordia Bulldogs Volleyball (@cunevolleyball) August 22, 2025
MARION, Ind. – This match had it all. A showdown between NAIA top five combatants. A five-set pulse-pounder. And the absence of officials at match time. Ultimately, a kill from freshman Laynee Baker set off a celebration from the visitors in navy blue as the fourth-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball team outlasted top-ranked, two-time defending national champion Indiana Wesleyan University, 24-26, 25-21, 25-27, 25-17, 15-10, on the home court of the Wildcats. Individually, the likes of Ashley Keck and Molli Martin starred on Friday (Aug. 22) in Marion, Ind.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad went 3-0 at the two-day Power Quad hosted by Indiana Wesleyan. The Bulldogs (4-0) also defeated Columbia College (Mo.) and MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) on Thursday. Boldt’s crew has taken down powerhouse Indiana Wesleyan for a second consecutive August.
“It was definitely a competitive match, lot of tight sets,” Boldt said. “We have to clean up a lot of stuff. We showed a lot of resiliency, but there were sets that we could have put away. We kind of let them off the hook on a couple of points, but we stayed resilient. Through the end of the match, we embodied our motto for the year, ‘let it rip.’ The sets that we let them come back, we weren’t doing that. We were tipping some balls. In the last set, we were not tipping. We were going for it.”
After squandering set-point opportunities in the first and third games, Concordia found itself in jeopardy inside Luckey Arena, home to the NAIA’s top-ranked squad. The Bulldogs put behind those frustrations and outhit the Wildcats, .295 to .088 in the fourth set, and, .120 to -.154, in the fifth set. IWU earned the first point of the fifth set before Concordia gained control, built a 9-4 lead and found the finishing touch. Keck put away a kill for point No. 14 and Baker followed with one of her own for match point.
In the middle, the Lincoln Lutheran alum Martin emerged in a big way. She posted four kills and two blocks in the fourth set as the Bulldogs displayed their mettle. Martin’s final tallies of 13 kills and 10 blocks both represented career highs. Martin led the charge for a front row that produced 22 total blocks, compared to 12 for Indiana Wesleyan. Four of Martin’s teammates contributed to at least four blocks: Ava Greene (eight), Keck (five), Addie Kirkegaard (five) and Baker (four).
The Kearney native Keck played like a returning NAIA First Team All-American in Marion. She filled the stat sheet on Friday with 14 kills, 31 digs, five blocks, 21 service receptions and three aces. Keck (the program’s newest member of the 1,000-kill club) was facilitated on the attack on Friday by setters Lilly Psencik (34 assists) and Ella Brueggemann (21 assists). Concordia hit .125 for the day (while the Wildcats hit .039). Baker finished with eight kills while Kirkegaard and Ella Waters added seven apiece.
The Bulldogs were forced to adjust in the back row early in the first set when libero Emma Brueggemann left after taking a blow to the nose. Lanie Brott filled the role for the rest of the set before giving way to Shandy Faalii, who wound up with 27 digs.
Indiana Wesleyan’s two most recent losses have both come at the hands of Concordia. The Wildcats (2-1) nearly went a full 12 months without tasting defeat. The program’s 36-match win streak was snapped on Friday. IWU had a key absence this week with reigning NAIA National Player of the Year Eva Joldersma sidelined. In her place, Marin Sanchez (14) and Marissa Mullins (13) led the team in kills. Two-time NAIA National Setter of the Year Abbigail Porter collected 45 assists.
Moving forward, Boldt will look for his team to put sets away when it has chances as it did in the first and third sets at Indiana Wesleyan. The highlight of the day for the Wildcats occurred when they rattled off six-straight points to erase a 24-19 deficit in the third set.
Said Boldt, “We have an experienced group. We have some veterans. Each set starts at zero. We have to continue to have the right mentality and continue to come back. Our team has confidence to be able to have that trust. I’m just really proud of them … The competition level was great. It was adapt and adjust.”
The Bulldogs will return home for the start of the fall semester and now look forward to action at the College of Saint Mary Labor Day Classic (Aug. 29-30). As part of the event, Concordia will take on Ottawa University (Kan.), No. 16 Viterbo University (Wis.), Bethel College (Kan.) and No. 5 Eastern Oregon University. All matches will take place inside the Lied Fitness Center Fieldhouse on the CSM campus.