COLUMBIA, Mo. – It was a statement weekend for the fourth-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team. One day after a frantic fifth-set rally that sunk No. 7 Columbia College (Mo.) on its home floor, the Bulldogs upended top-ranked defending national champion Indiana Wesleyan University in another five-set pulse pounder. As part of the Saturday (Aug. 24) action in Columbia, Mo., Concordia celebrated a 20-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22, 15-10, win over No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan and then a 25-20, 25-20, 25-18, victory over MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.).
A 3-0 weekend in The Show-Me State showed plenty in regard to what Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad is made of. The Bulldogs never wavered in moments of peril.
“It’s really fun to beat a defending national champion who’s ranked No. 1,” Boldt said. "It was a great match. I’m proud of our team’s resilience. We blocked really well, we dug really well and our offense was moving. Looking at our attack attempts – we were very balanced. That’s everything we are looking for. Ella (Waters) had some great swings. She’s getting her feet to the ball and she’s hitting over the block. (Addie) Kirkegaard was really good today. She’s getting more consistent in her attack.”
The morning victory over Indiana Wesleyan prompted the team to douse Boldt with a postgame Gatorade shower. The celebration was well-earned in light of back-to-back emotional five-set triumphs. In the latest five-setter, Concordia shook off a two-sets-to-one deficit while putting away 17 kills in the fourth set and another 10 in the fifth. It was a massive statistical weekend for the transfer Waters, who came up clutch with four kills and a block during the fifth set. She shut the door on the Wildcats with a kill for match point.
The Bulldogs used their balance to overcome a 23-kill performance from reigning NAIA National Attacker of the Year Eva Joldersma, who pairs with returning First Team All-American setter Abigail Porter. One of those kills from Joldersma gave IWU the edge after three sets before Concordia came roaring back. The 5-foot-7 outside hitter Kya Scott ripped off four-straight kills in the middle of the fourth set and accumulated a career high 14 kills. A Gabi Nordaker kill wrapped up the fourth set after IWU had come charging back (24-22) with back-to-back points.
Waters finished the win over top-ranked IWU with 17 kills while Ashley Keck posted 14 kills and 15 digs. Kirkegaard added nine kills while Nordaker recorded a team high four blocks. Becca Gebhardt paced the back row with 17 digs and the setter tandem of Savannah Shelburne and Lily Psencik combined for 58 assists as the team racked up 65 kills. Psencik also dropped in three aces. From a team perspective, the Bulldogs (.225) and Wildcats (.226) had nearly identical hitting percentages.
After the quick postgame celebration, Concordia regrouped for one final match on the weekend. Said Boldt, “I told them that this last match was going to be our toughest match. It’s more of a mental thing where you have to get yourself ready to go. Playing back-to-back games is different. It’s going to test you mentally.”
Boldt’s crew showed its maturity in making rather quick work of MidAmerica Nazarene (2-3). Waters led the way again with 13 kills (.478 hitting percentage) in an efficient effort. Kirkegaard supplied 11 kills and Nordaker produced eight of her own (to go with four blocks). In addition, Keck finished with six kills and 20 digs, Gebhardt collected 12 digs and Shelburne handed out 25 assists. On the other side of the net, the Pioneers hit only .059 and did not place an attacker into double figures in kills.
As far as university records indicate, Concordia had never before beaten an opponent ranked No. 1 nationally. The most recent Bulldog Volleyball edition to knock off a No. 2-rated opponent was the 2021 squad that toppled second-ranked Viterbo at the national tournament. Concordia had a crack at No. 1 Northwestern in last season’s GPAC tournament title match and was edged in five sets.
Another weekend event is next on the docket as the Bulldogs will play at the CSM Labor Day Classic on Aug. 30-31. The opponents over those two days will be No. 14 Bellevue University, No. 5 Viterbo University (Wis.) and Oklahoma Panhandle State University. All matches will be played at the Lied Fitness Center Fieldhouse on the College of Saint Mary campus in Omaha.