3-0 loss at top-ranked Northwestern concludes regular season
Orange City, Iowa – After the new NAIA top 25 poll was released earlier this week (Nov. 5), Concordia found that they had jumped a spot to be the sixteenth ranked team in the NAIA. Nonetheless, their desire was to climb even higher with a win over Northwestern on Wednesday night.
Though it would have no effect on the seeding for the GPAC Quarterfinals on Saturday, CUNE Volleyball knew a win over the number one team in the nation would be their biggest to date and would send fear into their competition the rest of the way. Unfortunately, this was not the case, as the Bulldogs were swept in three straight sets (20-25, 24-26, 23-25).
“It was still a fun match to be a part of” said Head Coach Ben Boldt. “We played well overall, especially our outsides. It was fun to see Kara (Stark) and Cam (Opfer) go against their big block and still be efficient.” Stark and Opfer led the way in kills for the Bulldogs. Stark had 10 kills and Opfer had 15 kills, and those were accompanied by Callahan who had 36 assists.
“They have a really good offense, so we have to give them credit” said Boldt. They made the big plays when it mattered most. It just felt like they made one more play than we did all night long. We were right there and we are looking forward to getting the chance to play at that level again.”
As the postseason is set to begin Saturday at home, the Bulldogs will look to get back to their winning ways and make a deep run. Three-seeded Concordia will face the six-seed, Doane University, with the match aiming for a 7 pm start time at Walz Arena in Seward.