SEWARD, Neb. – The experience and togetherness of this Bulldog team continues to show in the way it performs on the court. Visiting Hastings jumped out to a lead in the first set, but the 10th-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team never blinked. It got stronger as the match wore on and toppled the Broncos, 25-20, 25-20, 25-12, inside Friedrich Arena on Wednesday (Aug. 31). Like most opponents, Hastings struggled to decipher where and when the Bulldogs hitters would strike.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad moved to 6-0 overall this season while playing its third home match in a row. Dating back to last season, Concordia owns a six-match home win streak.
“I thought our connectedness grew throughout the game,” Boldt said. “We’re really challenging them to work through things and be solution-oriented. Hastings right off the bat came out pretty hot. We had to make some adjustments. This group that we have has been playing together for a while. Sometimes you assume that everyone knows what’s going on, but that’s not always the case. We have to say what’s on our minds … I was really proud of them for how they worked through the game.”
By match’s end, the Bulldogs owned lopsided advantages in most statistical categories. Concordia outhit Hastings, .290 to .128, and held the Broncos without a single service ace. Effective serve receive led into another – stop us if you’ve heard this before – balanced attack. Setter Bree Burtwistle dialed up five different teammates for at least seven kills: Carly Rodaway (10), Ashley Keck (nine), Camryn Opfer (nine), Kalee Wiltfong (eight) and Gabi Nordaker (seven).
A kill for match point pushed Opfer to 999 career kills as a strong crowd of Concordia students and supporters celebrated. The Seward High School product also recorded a block that put an end to the second set. In the third, the Bulldogs hummed like a machine. During that dominant stretch, Burtwistle quarterbacked Concordia to 20 kills compared to just two errors. The victors finished with 45 kills and 14 errors. In blocking, the Bulldogs edged the Broncos, 6-4.
In theory, it’s as simple as hitting the ball where they ain’t. Concordia is one of the best in the country at doing just that. Said Ben Boldt, “I asked a question at the end of the second set to Ang (Angie Boldt) – ‘Where are we hitting right now that we aren’t getting as many kills as we should be getting?’ Then we started hitting in those spots. That’s just the adjustment that we made. We’ll continue to ask that question throughout the season. We made adjustments and we kind of rolled in that third set.”
Burtwistle finished with 41 assists and nine digs. She was helped in the back row by Rebecca Gebhardt (12 digs) and Opfer (11 digs). Five Bulldogs dropped in a service ace apiece: Burtwistle, Gebhardt, Lexie Kreizel, Opfer and Ashlynn Wischmeier.
A strong start for Hastings (6-2, 0-1 GPAC) included a four-set win over then 20th-ranked Columbia College (Mo.) as part of a trip to Florida. The Broncos were led by the 10 kills from Peyton Roper on Wednesday.
A weekend full of volleyball is coming up for the Bulldogs, who will play four times as part of the College of Saint Mary/United Sports Academy Labor Day Classic in North Sioux City, S.D. Below is Concordia’s match schedule at the event. Live streams will be provided via BallerTV for a charge. All matches will take place at the United Sports Academy located at 300 Centennial Drive in North Sioux City.
Weekend Schedule
• Friday, Sept. 2 vs. (9) Viterbo University, 1 p.m. (Court 2)
• Friday, Sept. 2 vs. Presentation College, 7 p.m. (Court 3)
• Saturday, Sept. 3 vs. Dakota State University, 11 a.m. (Court 2)
• Saturday, Sept. 3 vs. Evangel University, 3 p.m. (Court 3)