OMAHA, Neb. – Ella Waters smoldered from the right side and Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball put together one of its most efficient attacking matches of the season. The result was a 25-15, 25-17, 19-25, 25-22, road win over College of Saint Mary on Saturday (Oct. 25) evening. After absorbing a fiery charge from the Flames, The Bulldogs hammered out 20 kills in the fourth set to put it on ice. The match-point kill was delivered by freshman Makenna Starkey.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad earned a season sweep of College of Saint Mary and has improved to 20-2 overall (13-1 GPAC). The program has hit the 20-win mark for the fifth time during Boldt’s eight-year tenure.
“I thought we came in focused and really put pressure on serve and pass,” Boldt said. “We were earning our points, especially in those first two sets. We were hitting over .300 and over 15 kills per set. That’s what we can be when we’re earning our points. I was really proud of how they came out and proud of them throughout the match for staying composed.”
In her near-unstoppable hitting display, Waters equaled a career high with 18 kills on the strength of an eye-popping .654 hitting percentage (only one error on 26 swings). On the pins, Waters went a perfect 6-for-6 and Ashley Keck went 5-for-6 in the opening set that saw Concordia hit .433 as a team. Keck enjoyed a fine match of her own as she collected 18 kills, 27 digs and three aces.
To CSM’s credit, it countered the Bulldog firepower in the third set when it adjusted its serving tactics. Deeper and harder serves turned the tide in the Flames’ favor as they hit .283 (18 kills and five errors) in the third set. CSM also fought back from a 16-7 deficit in the fourth set and got within 20-18. The Flames who burned the brightest on this night were Madalyn Welp (16 kills on .350 hitting) and returning First Team All-GPAC middle Azaria Green (11 kills and two blocks).
Nearly across the board, Concordia held statistical advantages: .294 to .150 in hitting percentage, 61-44 in kills, 73-57 in digs and 8-4 in blocks. CSM (12-12, 5-8 GPAC) had a slight edge in aces, 8-6. In backing Waters and Keck, Ava Greene notched 10 kills and four blocks. The Bulldogs continue to lean upon veteran setters Lily Psencik and Savannah Shelburne, who combined for 53 assists on Saturday. Libero Emma Brueggemann chipped in with 20 digs.
In one of the best outings of her Concordia career, Waters added six blocks. Over the past two weeks (six matches), Waters is hitting .414 with 60 kills in raising her game to another level.
Said Boldt, “When we got into trouble, we were like, ‘Let’s set Ella.’ How about that? That sounds like a good plan. She’s got herself in a groove with getting the ball on her hitting shoulder and getting great hand contact on the ball. She had a great game tonight .. Defensively, I thought we did a good job. Our blockers took away the shots that we needed to and our diggers set up around them.” Boldt went on to give a shoutout to his son Brady on his birthday.
The Bulldogs will wait until next Saturday (Nov. 1) to return to action. On that day, Concordia will be in Fremont to take on No. 17 Midland (16-8, 11-3 GPAC) with varsity first serve at 5 p.m. CT. Back on Sept. 17, the Bulldogs defeated the Warriors in four sets inside Friedrich Arena. Concordia owns a four-match series win streak over the rival Warriors.