ORANGE CITY, Iowa – For the second weekend in a row, the top-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team played with the eyes of the NAIA volleyball landscape upon it. No. 3 Northwestern was ready. After a razor tight first set, the Red Raiders turned up the heat and emerged with a 26-24, 25-20, 25-16, victory inside the Bultman Center in Orange City, Iowa, on Saturday (Oct. 14). The blocking of Northwestern became the story of the afternoon as the Bulldogs hit just .044.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad has tasted defeat for the first time this season and stands at 17-1 overall (10-1 GPAC). Concordia slipped into a tie with Jamestown for first place in the GPAC standings.
“Credit to Northwestern. They were aggressive,” Boldt said. “Their blocking was really big, so it was tough to get around it. It took us out of the things we wanted to do. I was proud of our team for how we stuck with it and we had a set-point in the first set. We stayed tough through that, but credit to them. They were taking good swings and played well today.”
Perhaps this one would have been different had the Bulldogs seized the moment in the opening set. A Carly Rodaway kill gave Concordia the 24-23 lead. The Red Raiders came up clutch with a 3-0 run spurred by two kills from star outside hitter Jazlin De Haan. She finished with a match high 13 kills on a day defined largely by her side’s stellar defensive performance. By set, the Bulldogs were frustrated into respective hitting percentages of .136, .083 and -.091.
In the middle this was a matchup between two reigning NAIA National Players of the Week in Concordia’s Gabi Nordaker (attacker) and Northwestern’s Zavyr Metzger (defender). Metzger did not have a single kill on the day, but she contributed mightily with six blocks (two solos). The Red Raiders won the blocking battle, 12-6. They even out-killed the nation’s most potent offensive squad (in terms of hitting percentage), 41-36.
Sophomore Ashley Keck enjoyed a terrific first set in striking for six kills on seven attempts. Keck paced the Bulldogs with 10 kills for the match (while adding 12 digs). Camryn Opfer tallied nine kills and 20 digs and Nordaker produced eight kills and four blocks. Bree Burtwistle totaled 30 assists and digs and Becca Gebhardt chipped in with 13 digs.
The previous two Concordia-Northwestern meetings went to the Bulldogs in five sets. If the Red Raiders (19-2, 10-2 GPAC) were to stay in the GPAC title race, they had to have this one. Northwestern lost two on its home court earlier this season (Jamestown and College of Saint Mary) but got this one thanks in large part to its blocking. In backing Metzger, Savonne Sterk and Macay Van’t Hul notched five blocks apiece. Van’t Hul and Alysen Dexter both wound up with eight kills.
Said Boldt, “I think you can learn a whole lot about yourself in a loss. Whether you win or lose, you’re always trying to get better. We learned a whole lot today about how to come out and make sure we’re aggressive. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”
A pair of in-state conference foes will make up next week’s schedule. Up first, the Bulldogs will be at Doane (5-16, 3-8 GPAC) on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. CT first serve of the varsity match. Concordia won this season’s first meeting with Doane, 25-11, 25-14, 25-14, inside Friedrich Arena. The Bulldogs have taken 10 of the past 11 series matchups.