SIOUX CITY, Iowa – With the opportunity to play the NAIA’s top-ranked team on its home court, a spirited Briar Cliff squad gave the Concordia University Volleyball team all it could handle in the opening set. Once the tide turned, the Bulldogs dominated while finishing the night with a stout .303 hitting percentage. Concordia stayed unbeaten by shorting out the Chargers, 25-21, 25-8, 25-18, inside the Newman Flanagan Center on Friday (Sept. 29).
This marked the first time in program history that the Bulldogs carried the No. 1 national ranking into a match. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad sits at a perfect 14-0 (7-0 GPAC) halfway through the weekend visit to Sioux City, Iowa.
“They came out swinging,” Boldt said of Briar Cliff. “I thought we approached this match with focus and made some good adjustments. We’re going to have to be able to take another team’s best shot and adjust. I really like our mindset. Once we settled in, I thought we played really well.”
The only real drama of the evening came in that opening set. Concordia called timeout trailing 18-16 and found itself down 20-18 following an attack error. Two kills apiece from Gabi Nordaker and Ashley Keck down the stretch of the first set allowed the Bulldogs to complete the comeback. Concordia took over from there as Bree Burtwistle (43 assists) teed it up for three teammates to reach double figures in kills: Carly Rodaway (13), Camryn Opfer (12) and Nordaker (11).
The Bulldogs managed to keep in system for much of the night, leading to impressive hitting percentages from the likes of Rodaway (.500), Nordaker (.471) and Opfer (.323). In tandem with Nordaker in the middle, the freshman Maddie Paulsen produced five kills on her 11 attacks. In the back row, Becca Gebhardt accumulated 14 digs (and two aces) in pushing her career dig total to 993. Burtwistle contributed 13 digs. In addition, Ashley Keck chipped in with seven kills, eight digs and three blocks. Nordaker led the team with four blocks.
Briar Cliff (6-15, 1-6 GPAC) managed to win the blocking battle, 7-4. Most other statistical categories were lopsided in Concordia’s favor. The powerful Bulldogs outnumbered the Chargers in kills, 52-25, and limited the home team to .067 hitting. Taryn Nothem and Toria Andre paced Briar Cliff with six kills apiece. The lone GPAC win for the Chargers so far came against Dordt.
Concordia’s 14-0 mark extends the longest unbeaten run to begin a season during the tenure of Ben and Angie Boldt. The Bulldogs rose to the No. 1 ranking in the nation on Wednesday when the latest NAIA coaches’ poll was released. As of Friday night, Concordia was one of three undefeated teams remaining in NAIA volleyball.
The weekend stay in Sioux City will continue on Saturday with a visit to Morningside (10-11, 3-4 GPAC). First serve of the varsity match from the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center is set for 3 p.m. CT. As part of a challenging weekend for the Mustangs, they stunned No. 10 Midland, 26-24, 25-23, 25-22, on Friday night. The Bulldogs have won each of their past four series meetings with Morningside.