SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – The possibility of an upset felt real as Dordt forged in front, 13-11, in the fifth set in action in Sioux Center, Iowa, on Saturday (Oct. 19) evening. Just moments later, the third-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball team exhaled as a Defender attack sailed out of bounds for match point. The Bulldogs held off Dordt, 25-15, 25-23, 14-25, 29-31, 16-14, in the fourth five-set match they’ve played this season.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad remains unbeaten in GPAC road matches (6-0) while improving to 18-2 overall (11-1 GPAC) with four matches remaining in the regular season.
“I’m proud of our team,” Boldt said. “Sometimes you win clean. Sometimes you win ugly. Sometimes you lose. It was really great effort, really good competition and just really proud of our team. We stuck with it and finished it out in the end. If we’re going to grow into a championship team, we’re going to have to do things at a high level across the board. We’re going to get everybody’s best shot. Dordt brought everything they got at us. Dordt was swinging fearlessly and aggressively.”
Down 13-11 in the fifth set, Concordia evened up as Gabi Nordaker and Ashley Keck went back-to-back with a kill apiece. The Bulldogs later gained the lead, 15-14, when Kate Griess landed an ace. After a Dordt timeout, the errant Defender attack allowed the visitors to breathe a sigh of relief. Keck and Ella Waters came through in the clutch with three kills each in the fifth set.
The improved Defenders (13-10, 7-5 GPAC) made this one a nailbiter while impressively holding Concordia’s powerful attack in check over the third and fourth sets. Dordt hit .345 in the third set and then posted 15 kills in the fourth set. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs mustered only five kills in the third set while hitting in the red. Three days after playing a match characterized by offensive firepower at CSM, Concordia had to get down and gritty on Saturday.
Though the Bulldogs were outkilled, 60-52, by Dordt, they held advantages in digs, 83-68, and in blocks, 14-11. Four Concordia players registered double figures in digs: Becca Gebhardt (19), Keck (14), Cassidy Knust (12) and Savannah Shelburne (10). Up front, middle Ava Greene rose up for eight blocks while Nordaker and Waters were credited with six stuffs apiece. From an attacking perspective, Waters led the way with 16 kills while Keck added 11 and Nordaker produced 10.
Narrowly, the Bulldogs had the upper hand in hitting percentage, .123 to .108. The top attacker for the Defenders was Tarren Spartz with 17 kills. Dordt has made major strides after finishing last season at 4-18 (3-13 GPAC).
Said Boldt, “We out-dug them by a lot. Props to our back row and our resilience all the way through. That’s the thing we’re going to take away and build upon. Kate (Griess) got an ace to give us the lead there at the end. As a service specialist, you come in the game and you’re cold and you go out there and make a difference in the game. It was a really competitive, fun match.”
Next up, the Bulldogs will be back inside Friedrich Arena to host Mount Marty (12-10, 4-7 GPAC) at 7:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Concordia defeated the Lancers in four sets in Yankton, S.D., on Sept. 4. In this weekend’s action, Mount Marty ventured to Waldorf (match in progress as release was finalized). Wednesday’s match will be a pink out to promote breast cancer awareness.