SEWARD, Neb. – Thanks to a win on Saturday (Oct. 28) and a Northwestern victory at Jamestown, the Concordia University Volleyball team has moved into a three-way tie for first place with one match to go in the regular season. The fourth-ranked Bulldogs celebrated their senior day by defeating Hastings, 25-15, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23, inside Friedrich Arena. Concordia’s attack fizzled at times, but it countered the Broncos with superior defensive play. Hastings was held to an .081 hitting percentage.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad notched win No. 20 on the season while moving to 20-2 overall (13-2 GPAC). The Bulldogs have positioned themselves for at least a share of the GPAC title, so long as they win their upcoming regular season finale.
“We came out and took it to them,” Boldt said. “I thought our serving was good. We didn’t quite have the connection tonight. I think our attackers need to create better flow for themselves. We were stopping right at the 10-foot line and not working to get back. When we were attacking, the ball was behind our head a lot, so we’ve got to keep working on that.”
Indeed, Concordia came out hot in taking a 20-8 lead in the first set before the Broncos finally got their feet underneath them. To Hastings’ credit, the visitors made this one a bit of a grind. There were a combined 179 digs and 16 blocks. Through the first two sets, the Broncos sported a hitting percentage in the red. Their most success came in the third set when they hit .244 and got a kill from Ilse Benne for set point. Hastings then nearly forced a fifth set while getting within 24-23 (after trailing 18-13) in the fourth.
The Bulldogs’ depth of talent won out in the end. There was too much at stake for Concordia to let this one get away. Five Concordia players did work in the back row in registering double figures in digs: Becca Gebhardt (18), Bree Burtwistle (16), Cassidy Knust (15), Camryn Opfer (15) and Ashley Keck (11). In the middle, Gabi Nordaker came through with four blocks. Meanwhile, the team’s top attackers, in terms of kills, were Keck (15), Opfer (13) and Nordaker (10). Burtwistle also landed five kills while recording 43 assists.
Hastings (8-16, 3-12 GPAC) managed to take a set from the Bulldogs in both meetings this season. The defeat on Saturday officially eliminated the Broncos from GPAC tournament contention. Hastings got 13 kills from Dacey Sealey and 12 from Benne. Miriam Miller made life difficult on Concordia’s attackers while posting a match high 25 digs. Amiya Barnes was in on seven blocks (two solos).
Eight Bulldog seniors were honored prior to the match. The group includes: Ashtynne Frahm, Sara Huss, Lexie Kreizel, Maddy Nagel, Gabi Nordaker, Carly Rodaway, Addie Smith and Shelby Stark. The All-American Nordaker broke some news on senior day in revealing that she will be coming back in 2024 and will use her ‘COVID year’ of eligibility.
Said Nordaker, “It’s obviously exciting that I get to have another year. For me it’s not as sad, but I am very sad that this is my last year with my teammates I’ve grown up with. That’s been a little rough, but I’m fortunate and lucky that I do get another year with this amazing team.”
Said Boldt of the positives from Saturday, “Our grit. We didn’t quite have the execution that we wanted to have, but I did not see any give-up in our team. I saw the ‘we want the ball mentality.’ Even when you’ve made an error the play before, it’s like, give me the ball again and we’ll figure this out together. We have to continue to get better.”
Concordia will aim for a season sweep of No. 18 Midland (14-9, 10-5 GPAC) in the regular season finale in Fremont, Neb., on Tuesday. First serve of the varsity match is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT from the Wikert Events Center. “That’s going to be probably a crazy environment,” Boldt said. “It’s Halloween night. The further you get into the season, the heavier the weight can feel on you. We just have to be ourselves.”