MITCHELL, S.D. – Things unraveled after the sixth-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team let the first set slip through its fingers on Saturday (Oct. 8) in Mitchell, S.D. Host and 15th-ranked Dakota Wesleyan pounced and won it in three, 25-23, 25-23, 25-12, behind a 21-kill outing from Ady Dwight. The Tigers hit .385 as a team while completing an exhilarating weekend that included Friday’s win over No. 3 Midland.
It was a tough road trip for Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad, which lost in four sets at No. 2 Jamestown on Friday. All three losses for the Bulldogs (16-3, 7-3 GPAC) this season have come on the road against top 15 opponents. Said Boldt, “Dakota Wesleyan is a good team. They blocked well at the net. I am proud that we never gave up. We need to own this and go back to work and get better.”
Who knows how different Saturday’s match might have gone had Concordia found a way to finish off the first set. The opening set featured a stretch of three-straight aces from Bree Burtwistle and the Bulldogs found themselves leading 22-17 after a Kalee Wiltfong kill. Dakota Wesleyan responded with an 8-1 run punctuated by kills from Dwight for point Nos. 23, 24 and 25. The Tigers won another tight set in the second before running away with the third. DWU hit .517 in the third set (17 kills compared to two errors).
The Bulldogs hit .195 as a team. Three Concordia players reached double figures in kills: Camryn Opfer (11), Gabi Nordaker (10) and Carly Rodaway (10). The transfer from Fort Hays State University, Rodaway emerged as a bright spot this weekend. She also floored 14 kills at Jamestown. At setter, Burtwistle tallied 30 assists to go along with her three aces on Saturday. Rebecca Gebhardt led the team with 14 digs.
Dwight added four blocks to her stat line. DWU owned the block category, 10-3. Teammate Mackenzie Miller joined her double figures in kills with 11. Setter Madeline Else recorded 42 assists and Hanna Reiff posted 13 digs. The big-time weekend for the Tigers pushed their record to 16-4 overall (7-3 GPAC). DWU appears poised to make back-to-back national tournament appearances.
The Bulldogs will have a week to regroup while preparing to host No. 7 Northwestern (17-4, 7-3 GPAC) at 3 p.m. CT next Saturday (Oct. 15). Concordia went to Orange City, Iowa, last season and outlasted the Red Raiders in five sets. The Bulldogs own a 6-0 home record this season.