SEWARD, Neb. – Halloween or not, Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball is a team to be feared. In the home regular season finale, the second-ranked Bulldogs treated the Friedrich Arena crowd to a snappy victory over rival Doane, 25-20, 25-15, 25-17, on Wednesday (Oct. 30). For the victors, Ashley Keck needed only 27 swings to pile up 14 kills from the outside and Gabi Nordaker stuffed nine Tiger attacks while making it a nightmare for Doane hitters.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad improved to 14-1 in conference play (21-2 overall) heading into the final match of the 2024 regular season. Concordia went 9-0 for the month of October.
“I thought we brought really good energy today,” said senior Becca Gebhardt in a postgame interview with a local TV station. “I was really proud of our team for that. It’s super special (the season we’re having). I’ve been here four years with these people. It’s just awesome to keep winning and keep accomplishing our goals. We’re not done yet.”
The story of the evening was the blocking of the Bulldogs, who flustered Doane into hitting .042 on the evening. In addition to Nordaker getting in on nine blocks (four solos), Addie Kirkegaard was credited with eight blocks and Ava Greene collected six denials. In setting the tone for the night, Nordaker blocks resulted in three of Concordia’s first four points. Fittingly, the evening’s festivities ended when Greene and Kirkegaard rose up to stuff the Tigers for match point.
There were no especially tense moments, although Doane did cling to within 20-18 in the first set and 16-15 in the third set. The best results for the Tigers came in the opening set when they managed 11 kills compared to our attacking errors. Concordia tightened up at the net and held Doane to respective hitting percentages of .026 in the second and -.081 in the third.
Not unlike most outings, the Bulldogs used balance to get it done (while making up for the absence of Ella Waters, who is expected back soon). Following the 14 kills from Keck (.444 hitting percentage), Nordaker posted nine kills, Kya Scott added eight, Kirkegaard supplied six and Greene chipped in with four. The setting duo of Lily Psencik and Savannah Shelburne combined for 36 assists as Concordia out-killed Doane, 42-30. Psencik collected two of the team’s five aces and Gebhardt (16) and Cassidy Knust (10) reached double figures in digs.
In the third set, Lanie Brott joined the fun with a thunderous kill. As a team, Concordia hit .236 while taking care of Doane (8-19, 3-11 GPAC) for the 13th time in the past 14 series meetings. The Tigers got a team best nine kills from Kayden Schumacher. Doane will finish up its season by taking on College of Saint Mary and Mount Marty.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs remain one game behind No. 1 Northwestern atop the GPAC standings. Concordia will focus on taking care of its own business. Said Shelburne, “I think the seniors have done a really good job leading this team. Like Becca said, we’re not done yet. Our word this year is ‘grit,’ and I think our team has done a really good job embodying that word.”
The Bulldogs will take this weekend off before closing the regular season next Tuesday (Nov. 5) at No. 22 Midland (16-9, 12-3 GPAC). The two sides met in Seward on Sept. 14 with the result being a four-set Concordia win. The Bulldogs also wrapped up the 2023 regular season with a victory in Fremont.