Volleyball fends off Mount Marty in highly-competitive straight-sets match
SEWARD, Neb. – Seven different Bulldogs tallied at least one kill to boost the Concordia University volleyball team its ninth-consecutive home victory. Third-year head coach Scott Mattera’s Bulldogs defeated visiting Mount Marty College, 25-22, 29-27, 25-23, on Saturday in a late-morning match.
Winner of four in a row overall, the national vote-getting Bulldogs improved to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in conference action. While Concordia won in straight sets, nothing came easy against an improved Lancer team that played exceptionally well defensively.
“Their blocking and their defense were fantastic, and we did not see that on film quite honestly,” Mattera said. “They played fantastic volleyball. If they play like that they’re going to give a lot of teams a lot of trouble.”
Mount Marty often frustrated Concordia with its activity at the net. A lengthy Lancer front row combined for 14 blocks, led by the nine from middle Allison Cross. That effort helped limit the Bulldogs to a .207 hitting percentage. The Lancers actually held a slight edge in that statistic with their own .210 clip on the attack.
Mount Marty made Concordia sweat by committing just 13 attack errors to go along with a stellar defensive effort. The Lancers forced a drawn-out second set after rallying back from a 22-18 deficit. They never had a set-point opportunity but pulled even with the Bulldogs on several occasions.
“We went into the locker room after that second game kind of frustrated like, ‘why aren’t we rolling,’” Mattera said. “They made almost no mistakes.”
Concordia’s wealth of attacking options proved to be enough and sophomore setter Alayna Kavanaugh piled up 42 assists. After a slow start, junior outside hitter Claire White rebounded and totaled a match high 16 kills. Middle Mariah Schamp had the most efficient day with seven kills (and three blocks) on 12 swings.
Led by Carli Smith’s 13 digs, the Bulldogs got steady play defensively. Eight different players had three or more digs, including eight apiece for Kavanaugh and senior Jami Nekoliczak.
In many ways, Saturday’s match paralleled Wednesday’s affair at Doane. Neither performance was perfect for Concordia, but it still figures out how to gut out wins.
“We stayed aggressive and we grinded it out again,” Mattera said. “That’s part of becoming a mature team. When things aren’t going your way, you keep fighting and find a way to pull out the win.”
As part of her impressive day, Cross posted eight kills on 15 attempts. Mount Marty was led by the nine kills by Sierra Kloth.
The biggest takeaway for Mattera was how much the Lancers have improved.
“Any GPAC win is a good win,” Mattera said. “Let’s be honest, if we’re looking at the 10th best team in our conference (according to official rankings), then our conference is ridiculous.”
Concordia’s nine-match home win streak dates back to a straight-sets win over York College on Oct. 8, 2013. Eight of the nine victories have come in three sets.
The Bulldogs remain at home on Wednesday to play a ranked foe for the fifth time this season. No. 16 Hastings (10-5, 1-2 GPAC) serves as the opponent for a match slated to start at 7:30 p.m. The Broncos have won 13-straight meetings dating back to October 2007.
