OMAHA, Neb. – Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball had University of Saint Francis (Ind.) overmatched on Saturday (Sept. 5) evening. The Bulldogs landed six aces in the first set, proceeded to hit .400 in the second and made quick work of the Cougars, 25-19, 25-16, 25-16, on day two at the College of Saint Mary Labor Day Classic in Omaha, Neb. Laynee Baker and Makenna Starkey (14 combined kills) were especially efficient on an overall clean day at the office.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad also defeated Lindsey Wilson University (Ky.) and Ottawa University (Kan.) as part of a 3-0 weekend. Third-ranked Concordia has moved to 9-2 with GPAC play up next.
“Focus was great,” Boldt said. “The serving was there. I thought the words for this match were ‘play a clean match,’ and I thought that was clean. There was maybe one point where I thought we tried to get out of ourselves. That was in the second set when we got set point. They had a couple-point run on us, and we tried to bury some balls into the block. But we gave them a little feedback, and then they stayed disciplined with what they were doing. I thought that we grew. I thought that we stayed clean, and I was really proud of them.”
These Bulldogs are about setting the tone from the service line. In Saturday’s opening set, Concordia flummoxed Saint Francis thanks to the efforts of Shandy Fa’ali’i (three first-set aces) along with other usual suspects such as Ella Brueggemann, Clara Evert and Myla Emery. Aggressive serving played a role in the Cougars finishing with 20 attack errors compared to 25 kills (.055 hitting percentage). They were often stifled at the net by Starkey (four blocks) and Maddie Paulsen (three blocks).
From an offensive perspective, the setting duo of Emery and Ella Brueggemann (15 assists apiece) kept Saint Francis on its heels with impressive distribution. Five Bulldogs notched at least five kills: Fa’ali’i (eight), Baker (seven), Starkey (seven), Samantha Kimbell (six) and Lanie Brott (five). The latter four each hit at least .400. In the back row, the Brueggemann sisters (Ella and Emma) led the way with seven and six digs, respectively.
A sophomore middle, the 5-foot-11 Starkey has stepped into a prominent role. The school high jump record holder enjoyed one of her better matches of the season to date.
Said Boldt, “I thought that Starkey played really well. She was driving to the ball on her attack, and she was making an impact as a blocker in the middle. I thought that she was a lot more disciplined with her arms. She's got long arms and hands, and she was pushing across the net today.”
A member of the NAIA’s Crossroads League, Saint Francis (4-10) went 0-4 against stout competition at the CSM Classic. The Cougars frequently set the ball to Nevaeh Plaster, who finished with a team-high nine kills (in addition to nine errors). Concordia had its way across the board against Saint Francis, emerging with advantages of 39-25 in kills, .307 to .055 in hitting percentage, 8-4 in aces and 35-32 in digs. Blocks were even at 6-6.
The Bulldogs will be back on that GPAC grind beginning on Wednesday when No. 16 Midland (8-3, 0-0 GPAC) will pay a visit to Friedrich Arena. First serve of the varsity match is set for 7:30 p.m. CT. Fans are encouraged to wear white in support of the whiteout. The Warriors also took part in this weekend’s CSM Classic and went finished the weekend on a straight sets win over Lindsey Wilson.
Said Boldt, “I just think that we've learned a lot about ourselves, and I think that we need to continue to grow. We need to continue to get better. GPAC's up next, and I think that we're ready to go. We're going to get tested a lot.”