YANKTON, S.D. – Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball continues to unleash an array of players upon its opponents. The likes of Kate Griess, Sydney Jelinek and Molli Martin emerged as key performers in Yankton, S.D., on Saturday (Sept. 6) as the Bulldogs opened conference play with a straight-sets win, 25-22, 25-13, 26-24, over an improving Mount Marty program. Concordia outhit the Lancers, .187 to .083, for the afternoon.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad returned to action for the first time since last weekend’s hectic couple of days on the College of Saint Mary campus. Now ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, the Bulldogs stand at 8-1 overall.
“We want to be a very physical team,” Boldt said. “And I think our middles have done an awesome job of having a mentality of owning the net where I’m going to go out there and be the aggressor. I’m really proud of them. We’ve been working a lot on being tight on our block and being disciplined. I also thought offensively, I was loving some of the stuff we were doing from behind the setter today. Ella Waters was ripping some balls. We’re still trying to find the connection on the slide attack behind the setter, but we’re getting there.”
The production from All-American outside hitter Ashley Keck (14 kills and eight digs on Saturday) is always going to be there, but she certainly doesn’t have to do it alone. Jelinek put away seven kills on 21 swings from the outside and Martin was in on five of the team’s six blocks (to go along with her seven kills). The Lincoln Lutheran High School product has been a major factor in Concordia ranking top five nationally in blocks per set (entering the weekend).
The Bulldogs were pushed to the wire in both the first and third sets by the Lancers (6-4, 0-1 GPAC). Keck landed a kill for set point in the first after Mount Marty had closed within 23-22. Then in the third, Concordia shook off a 23-22 deficit. The Bulldogs took a 25-24 lead on Martin kill and then clinched victory on a Mount Marty attack error. Despite the loss, the Lancers’ Caitlin Guenther (13 kills) put together a strong match.
From a results standpoint, the Bulldogs’ best stretch of play came in the second set. Concordia actually trailed that set 12-11 before getting on a roll with Kate Griess at the service line. Griess and company rattled off 11 points in a row to take command of the match. Griess dropped in one of the team’s three aces during that surge.
Said Boldt, “Kate Griess went on a great run there. She was really dialed in on her serve. It was just like, how many can we get her? She was putting us at a really big advantage because her serve got them out of system. We were getting easy balls back and really flying in there … We’ll take a look at the film, reflect a little bit and get ready for the next one. The GPAC is a grind.”
Statistically, Waters chipped in with six kills and two blocks and Maddie Paulsen posted four kills and two blocks. Libero Emma Brueggemann returned to the court and paced the team with 13 digs. Ella Brueggemann (20 assists) and Savannah Shelburne (14 assists) split setter duties. It all added up to the Bulldogs’ 24th straight series win over Mount Marty.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to make their long-awaited return to Friedrich Arena on Wednesday evening for a tussle with in-state rival College of Saint Mary (7-3, 0-0 GPAC). First serve of the varsity match is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT. In this weekend’s action, the Flames were set to play Midland in the evening.