SEWARD, Neb. – There was a brief hiccup to begin the evening, but the second-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball team quickly established control while taking care of rival Hastings, 25-19, 25-19, 25-15, on Wednesday (Sept. 24) from Friedrich Arena. For the fifth straight match to open GPAC play, the Bulldogs held their opposition to a hitting percentage south of .100. Superior serving and stellar defense were more than enough to befuddle the Broncos.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad kept its GPAC mark unblemished at 5-0 (12-1 GPAC). As a program, Concordia has won 11 consecutive GPAC regular season matches.
“I thought we responded well to challenges we set out for them,” Boldt said. “We started off down 6-1 in the first set, but I thought we came back and responded. I thought we stayed true and stayed composed. I was proud of that … The person they set the most hit negative, and I think that was because of our block setup and our presence out there. She was trying to hit around it. Defensively, I thought we played pretty well.”
Slow starts have been a bit of a theme lately for the Bulldogs, but it didn’t take them long to shake out of it on Wednesday. Boldt called a timeout after Hastings jumped out to a 6-1 first-set lead. The tide turned by the time Concordia evened up, 12-12, thanks to four straight kills, including three in a row from Ashley Keck, who again showed off her arsenal equipped with both power and finesse on the attack. To the Broncos’ credit, they clung within 20-19 before the Bulldogs rattled off the final five points of the first set, capped by Lily Psencik’s ace.
The final two sets were much more decisive. Concordia darted out to advantages of 8-3 in the second and 18-8 in the third. Meanwhile, the miscues for Hastings piled up. The Broncos committed 22 attack errors and 10 service errors. The only block (Ava Greene and Addie Kirkegaard) on the night for the Bulldogs came late in the second set, but their physicality at the net played a distinct role in the outcome.
The Kearney, Neb., native Keck led all players with nine kills to go along with her nine digs. It was an active night in the back row for freshman Emma Brueggemann, who collected 18 digs (and four assists). The setter duo of Ella Brueggemann (two aces) and Psencik combined for 27 assists while teeing it up for five teammates to notch at least five kills. Keck was followed in the kills by Kya Scott (six), Molli Martin (six), Greene (five) and Ella Waters (five). Concordia hit .268 as a team.
Added Boldt, “I’d like to start off cleaner. Volleyball is kind of weird. One point happens and then the next point happens. If there’s an error that happens, it can snowball on you a little bit. You have to flush the last play, stay clean and stay aggressive. The result of the play often comes back to your focus on the fundamentals and executing that.”
Hastings (4-11, 1-4 GPAC) was paced by the six kills apiece from Ilse Benne and Makenna Sutter. Lainey Benson dropped in three aces. The Broncos have fallen in 11 straight series meetings with the Bulldogs, who continue to take care of business while wearing a target on their backs.
Said Kya Scott, “Ben and Angie always say that everyone that has us on their schedule has our number circled right next to them. We have to trust the process, play Concordia volleyball and play like we know how to play.”
This coming Saturday will be senior day for the Bulldogs, who will welcome Dordt (12-4, 3-2 GPAC) for a 3 p.m. CT first serve (varsity match). A senior day recognition will take place prior to the start of the contest. In last season’s meeting with the Defenders, Concordia survived in five sets (16-14 in the fifth) in Sioux Center, Iowa.