SEWARD, Neb. – The winning streak against in-state opponents has moved to 19 for Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball. The third-ranked Bulldogs sent rival Doane packing, 25-22, 25-15, 25-12, on the final day (Nov. 3) of the 2026 regular season. The service of Clara Evert and company proved wickeder than political attack ads. Concordia peppered the Friedrich Arena floorboards with 14 aces for the evening.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad will carry an overall mark of 23-4 (14-2 GPAC) into the postseason. The Bulldogs placed as the GPAC runner up to Northwestern.
“Our serving has been a strength all year,” Boldt said. “More than any other team I've had here, we've really had a lot of aces. I was looking at GPAC stats recently, and all six of our servers are in the top 25 for aces across the GPAC. Nobody else really has that. I'm really proud of our serving this year. We have to continue to be focused. That's the word we use when it comes down to serving. It's about getting good hand contact on the ball and really coming back into focus if we have some errors.”
The 14 aces (against nine errors) were a season high for a Bulldog squad that ranks top 20 nationally in aces per set. On Tuesday, the service-line efforts of the likes of Evert (four aces), Shandy Fa’ali’i (four aces) and Jenna Sladky (three aces) allowed everything else to fall into place. Concordia was particularly dominant in the second and third sets, hitting .296 and .318, respectively.
This was the type of performance the Bulldogs hoped for three days after a five-set home defeat endured at the hands of No. 18 Dordt. Fittingly, Concordia did it the way it has all season – with balance. In the kill department, the Bulldogs were led by Fa’ali’i (eight) and Makenna Starkey (seven). In the middle, Starkey hit a sizzling .455 while adding three blocks. In teeing the ball up for the attackers, setters Myla Emery (17 assists, 10 digs, two aces) and Ella Brueggemann (11 assists, one ace) combined for 33 assists.
One of the team’s rising standouts, the libero Sladky said afterwards, “We all just wanted to come together and play together as one. It's always hard to have a loss, but we really wanted to become a family tonight and make sure that everything we do, we do for each other. We've been working a lot on volleyball talk and communication, which is really important for us. I think that's something we really focused on today.”
Despite its postseason hopes having already been dashed, Doane (4-25, 1-15 GPAC) showed grit in the opening frame when it fought off five set-point opportunities and climbed back within 24-22. Laynee Baker finally ended the set with a powerful kill. Baker also combined with Starkey on a block that wrapped up the second set. It was one of five Bulldog blocks on the night.
After the win, graduate assistant coach Juan Caro was compelled by the players to ring the bell. It was the proper way to honor both his birthday and his final match coaching the junior varsity.
While there’s more to come, the conclusion to the regular season allows for a moment of reflection.
Said Boldt, “I think it's a new team, so it's about building our connections together. I've really seen growth in how we're killing the ball from behind the setter, which really opens up everything else. We've killed the ball more out of the middle this year than we have over the last three or four years. That's really been something good for us. Everybody is contributing, and no one person has really stood out above the entire team. The strength of this team is everyone. It's the team. That's something I've really enjoyed about this group.”
Postseason play is up next. As the No. 2 seed in the conference, the Bulldogs will host seventh-seeded Dakota Wesleyan (18-10, 7-9 GPAC) in the GPAC quarterfinals on Saturday. First serve will be at 7:30 p.m. CT from Friedrich Arena. Concordia has reached the conference tournament final in each of the previous five seasons and has been at least a semifinalist in seven consecutive years. Find the GPAC tournament pairings HERE.