HASTINGS, Neb. – Call it a workmanlike effort from the third-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball team. The Bulldogs remained perfect in the month of October while rolling past Hastings, 25-19, 25-18, 25-17, inside Lynn Farrell Arena on Saturday (Oct. 26). Statistically, Ashley Keck led the way in tallying 12 kills and 17 digs. Concordia played a far cleaner game than the Broncos (with only 10 hitting errors compared to 21 by Hastings).
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad remains one game out of first place in the GPAC standings with two matches remaining in the regular season. The Bulldogs (20-2, 13-1 GPAC) are 7-0 in conference road contests in 2024.
“I think our team was very disciplined,” Boldt said. “It was a match where we needed to stay aggressive, but we also needed to be ourselves. At the beginning, their outside was getting a lot of kills. We had to adjust. Rather than switching things around, we had to be detail-oriented. I think we did a good job with that. I’m really proud of the effort. They stuck together. It was a full team win today.”
Concordia outhit Hastings, .263 to .107, for the match and took command of all three sets. The first one was the tightest and saw the Broncos pull within 19-17 via an ace serve. The Bulldogs then went to Keck for a kill that sparked a 4-0 run. Addie Kirkegaard later put the set away with a kill. Concordia hit .353 in the opening set.
While Keck posted a team high 12 kills, five of her teammates recorded at least four kills, including Kya Scott (eight) and Ella Waters (seven). In addition to an advantage in hitting percentage, the Bulldogs held edges in kills, 41-37, digs, 73-62, and blocks, 10-6. Becca Gebhardt (16) and Cassidy Knust (12) joined Keck in double figures in digs. Meanwhile, Kirkegaard and Ava Greene earned credit for four blocks apiece and the setting duo of Lily Psencik (19 assists) and Savannah Shelburne (18 assists) combined for 37 assists. Shelburne added three aces.
Eventually, Concordia did find a way to slow down Majesta Valasek, but she managed to finish with a match high 15 kills (.192 hitting percentage). The Broncos (13-9, 8-6 GPAC) also got 21 digs from Miriam Miller. The result meant that the Bulldogs extended their series win streak over Hastings to 10.
Said Boldt, “We wanted to be balanced, but we wanted to get the ball to our pins a little more, which we did. We wanted to also find our middles in transition to keep them off balance. We had to work into the match to do that. Ava had a couple good kills and a couple good stuff blocks. It was a full team effort. Hastings is a good team. We had to be our best today. I think we had a good week of practice and we were ready to go.”
The regular season home finale is coming up this Wednesday when the Bulldogs will host Doane (8-18, 3-10 GPAC) for a 7:30 p.m. CT varsity match. Concordia won in straight sets when the two sides met in Crete on Sept. 25. The Bulldogs have triumphed in 12 of the past 13 series matchups.