Second-set rally not enough at No. 9 Midland

FREMONT, Neb. – In a pre-match interview, Midland head coach Paul Giesselmann commented that he “wouldn’t be surprised if it goes five” when breaking down Wednesday night’s match with the Concordia University volleyball team. The Bulldogs, who received votes in the national coaches’ poll released Tuesday, were not going to sneak up on the ninth-ranked Warriors, who won 25-19, 23-25, 25-17, 25-17 in the conference opener for both teams.

The loss dropped head coach Scott Mattera’s Bulldogs to 6-4 overall and 0-1 in conference action.

Concordia appeared doomed to fall behind two sets to none as the high-powered Warriors built a 16-8 lead in the second set. Midland (10-3, 1-0 GPAC) seemed to maintain control with a 20-13 advantage late in the set, but the Bulldogs never quit. Leaning on its wall up front, Concordia piled up five blocks in the second game, including two in a row to finish off a 25-23 triumph and improbable comeback.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs played catch up all night. Midland responded to the second-set Concordia rally by rolling through the third game. The Warriors raced out to a 10-2 lead and snuffed the Bulldog attempt at another rally in an impressive set for Midland. Paige Getz did some of her best work on the outside during the third game, but the hole had been too big to dig out of.

The Warriors then put it away by hitting a razor-sharp .476 in the fourth game, ending any hope Concordia had of pulling a stunner on the road. The biggest difference maker for Midland was Heather Pribyl, who had 13 kills (.550 hitting percentage) and six blocks (two solo) while helping to contain Concordia’s fine group of middles.

The Warriors also did a solid job of limiting Concordia’s attack near the antennas as the Bulldogs hit .046 for the match. However, the Bulldogs got good play at the net from freshman middle Annie Friesen (four block assists) and from sophomore setter Alayna Kavanaugh (six blocks).

On the outside, junior Claire White topped Concordia with 10 kills and 15 digs while Getz added nine.

Accomplished setter Megan Farley spurred the Midland attack with her 41 assists. The Bulldogs did a commendable job holding the Warriors, winner of four-straight matches, to a .173 hitting percentage compared to their season clip of .213.

After nine-straight neutral/away matches, the Bulldogs return home on Saturday to host a tri-match with Peru State College and Friends University (Kan.). Concordia will take on Peru State at 11 a.m. and then Friends at 3 p.m. Peru State and Friends will go head-to-head at 1 p.m. All three matches will take place inside Walz Arena and will be webcast live via the Concordia Sports Network. The Bulldogs’ contest with Friends is a rematch of their Sept. 6 meeting when Concordia won in four sets at the Hastings College Classic.