OMAHA, Neb. – It was a week of season sweeps for the sixth-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team. Coming off a dominant home win over Doane, the Bulldogs put together perhaps their best blocking performance of 2022 while taking out No. 13 College of Saint Mary, 25-18, 25-18, 25-13, in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday (Oct. 22). Concordia managed to stamp out the Flames in straight sets in both of their 2022 regular season meetings.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad remained in a tie for third place in the GPAC standings at 10-3 in conference play (19-3 overall). Jamestown (12-1) and Midland (11-2) are the top two teams in the standings with three matches left in the regular season.
“We blocked really well today,” Boldt said. “Especially when they were in system, we had some good blocks. That took them out of their comfort zone and put us at an advantage. That was really cool to see.
“I think College of Saint Mary made some adjustments (from the previous meeting with us). They were coming off a good match with Jamestown, so we saw film of them playing really well. We set up our gameplan for what we wanted to do, and I thought we executed it really well. The message for our team was to keep it day-by-day. That’s one of our core values.”
The match Boldt referenced was the Flames’ five-set home defeat to No. 2 Jamestown a week earlier. At least this season, the Bulldogs have had CSM’s number. The latest matchup saw Concordia outhit the Flames, .289 to .128, and run away with the third set. The Bulldogs ruled the block category, 10-3, behind six total blocks from Gabi Nordaker (two solos). Morgan Nibbe also contributed to four blocks in stifling the Flame attack.
None of the three sets were particularly close down the stretch. Set points came via Camryn Opfer’s kill in the first, Bree Burtwistle’s ace in the second and Ashley Keck’s kill in the third. CSM did manage to even the second set at 17-17 before Concordia went on an 8-1 run that saw Keck put away two kills and get in on a block. On the other side of the net, Flames’ kills leader Makenna Freeman was limited to four kills.
Keck amassed a match high 14 kills on .289 hitting from the outside. It was an all-around fine match for Opfer, who totaled 10 kills, 16 digs, two blocks and an ace while hitting .476. Seven kills apiece were chipped in by Nibbe, Nordaker and Carly Rodaway. Meanwhile, Burtwistle notched 38 assists, 11 digs and three aces and Rebecca Gebhardt supplied 13 digs. Six Bulldogs contributed to the team’s block total. As for Nibbe, she took advantage of starting opportunities this week as Kalee Wiltfong was sidelined.
The Bulldogs will be at home for two of their final three regular season matches. Coming up this Wednesday, Concordia will host Mount Marty (6-17, 1-12 GPAC) at 7:30 p.m. CT from Friedrich Arena. The Bulldogs and Lancers met in Yankton, S.D., on Sept. 21 with the result being a Concordia win in straight sets. Mount Marty’s lone conference win occurred at Doane back on Sept. 7.