YANKTON, S.D. – In a battle between two teams that began the night with identical 7-1 records, the third-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team absorbed a push from the home team and came away victorious. Efficient nights from four main Bulldog attackers helped chalk up a 25-20, 25-16, 21-25, 25-15, win over Mount Marty on Wednesday (Sept. 4). The improving Lancers managed to extend the evening into a fourth set by hitting .242 in the third.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad notched its second true road win of the 2024 season while beginning the conference grind. Boldt liked the way his team slammed the door with a dominant fourth set.
“In the third set there, we had a couple of lapses in our serve receive, and momentum is a real thing in volleyball,” Boldt said. “They kind of capitalized on that. That kind of stuff happens. We have to stay tough – Mount Marty is very much an improved team. They’re competitive and physical. It’s a GPAC road win. We’ll take that any day.”
While Mount Marty’s Julia Weber peppered the floorboards with 19 kills, the Bulldogs easily outhit the Lancers (.300 to .145) thanks to a balanced performance that featured four players with double-figure kill totals: Ashley Keck (14), Gabi Nordaker (11), Ella Waters (11) and Molli Martin (10). Each of those Concordia standouts hit .345 or better on the night. They were facilitated by setters Savannah Shelburne (30 assists) and Lily Psencik (18 assists).
Coming off a 4-0 weekend, Mount Marty was spurred by a strong home crowd in Cimpl Arena. The best stretch of the night for the Lancers came after they trailed 19-16 in the third set. Macy Drotzmann landed a pair of ace serves as part of a 9-2 run that prompted the fourth set. That momentum was stamped out in that final set thanks to a 6-0 Bulldog spurt that pushed the advantage to 22-13. Martin surfaced for two kills as part of that surge.
Defensively, Concordia adjusted as the night wore on and came away with a 10-4 blocking advantage. Nordaker posted three blocks of her own while creeping closer to 500 for her career (494 and counting). Addie Kirkegaard also chipped in with six kills and four blocks and Shandy Fa’ali’i collected three aces. In the back row, Becca Gebhardt notched 10 digs.
Many recent matchups with Mount Marty (7-2, 0-1 GPAC) have resulted in sweeps for the Bulldogs, but the Lancers have made significant progress compared to a year ago. Tevan Erickson posted 35 assists and 12 digs a day after being named the GPAC Setter of the Week.
Said Boldt, “I was proud of our resilience in our block. They were ripping balls right on top of the net. We stuck with it and had some decent block numbers tonight. I’m proud of us coming into a tough environment in the middle of the week. Molli really came on there in the last couple of sets. We know she’s capable of doing that kind of stuff. We keep reminding her to stay aggressive.”
The Bulldogs will enjoy this weekend off while setting their sights on a return home next Wednesday (Sept. 11). That evening will bring a matchup with College of Saint Mary (7-4, 0-1 GPAC) at 7:30 p.m. CT. The two sides split last season’s pair of regular season meetings with the away team earning the victory in both instances. The Flames were beaten at home in four sets by No. 20 Midland on Wednesday.