CRETE, Neb. – The top-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team got better as the match went on Wednesday (Oct. 18) night after starting a bit slow by its standards. With the race tightening up at the top of the GPAC standings, the Bulldogs had to have this one at Doane. The visitors got the job done, 25-18, 25-19, 25-13, behind 12 kills and five blocks from middle Gabi Nordaker. Concordia held the Tigers to an .033 hitting percentage.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad effectively bounced back from its first loss of the 2023 season. The Bulldogs hold down first place in the GPAC with an 11-1 league mark (18-1 overall).
“I was proud of our patience in the first set,” Boldt said. “I thought we were playing hard, I thought we came out focused. Doane was taking some really good swings. Throughout it, we stayed the course and pulled away at the end. That’s how volleyball works sometimes. We found a place where we had our flow.”
Eventually, Concordia gained firm control while feeling that flow in the final set. The Tigers struggled to move Becca Gebhardt off the service line as the score in that third set moved from 3-3 to 11-3 in the Bulldogs’ favor. During that stretch, Concordia played its cleanest volleyball and wound up hitting .278 for the third set. The margin provided opportunities for players off the bench and Sara Huss took advantage with a pair of kills and later combined with Addie Kirkegaard on a block for point No. 24. Camryn Opfer followed with a kill to close out the night.
Doane (6-17, 4-9 GPAC) appears to be playing with more confidence than it showed on Sept. 13 when it was flattened in Seward, 25-11, 25-14, 25-14. In the matchup on the black top on Wednesday, the Tigers owned a 15-14 lead in the first set and were even at 13-13 in the second set. Ultimately, Doane did not possess the firepower to keep up. Its leading attacker was Delaney Burge with seven kills. Olivia Navarro tallied six kills and Sophia McKinney topped the back row with 11 digs.
The act of limiting the Bulldogs to .231 hitting is commendable. In addition to Nordaker’s 12 kills, four teammates notched at least six kills: Opfer (nine), Carly Rodaway (nine), Ashley Keck (six) and Maddie Paulsen (six). Bree Burtwistle facilitated those hitters with her 40 assists. There were also three Concordia players with at least 10 digs: Opfer (15), Gebhardt (12) and Keck (10). The Bulldogs finished with a 12-7 advantage in blocking while running their record to 11-1 over the past 12 meetings with rival Doane.
Boldt knows his team can be sharper, but every outing in the GPAC presents its challenges. Said Boldt, “I think we need to continue to be good at what we’re really good at. Our offense is really, really good. We need to continue to hit the ball hard and challenge ourselves in that. You need to work really hard to get yourself in position to swing tough. I thought by the end of the match, we were doing that. We found some flow towards the end. Again, we have a saying in our gym, ‘Be the woman.’ When it’s your opportunity, go make the most of it.”
The Bulldogs will be back inside Friedrich Arena on Saturday for their first home match since Oct. 7. The opponent will be No. 9 College of Saint Mary (20-5, 8-4 GPAC) in a contest set for a 3 p.m. CT varsity first serve. Concordia Volleyball encourages fans to wear pink on Saturday in support of breast cancer awareness. In the first Concordia-CSM meeting this season, the Bulldogs defeated the Flames in four sets in Omaha.