Volleyball hosts tri-match with Friends and Peru State on Saturday
SEWARD, Neb. – After hitting the road for its past nine matches, the Concordia University volleyball team returns home on Saturday to host both Friends University (Kan.) and Peru State College in a tri-match. Head coach Scott Mattera’s squad, now receiving votes in the national poll, will look to get back in the ‘W’ column after consecutive losses snapped a four-match win streak that included an upset of No. 14 Oklahoma Baptist University.
“The bottom line is we’re finally at home again,” Mattera said. “The girls are excited to get back home and get in front of our own crowd. You can see how hungry they are for that.”
The first of three matches inside Walz Arena on Saturday will get underway at 11 a.m. Frank Greene will call the action for both Bulldog contests via the Concordia Sports Network. The Bulldogs are 1-0 at home this season and 9-5 at Walz since the start of the 2013 campaign.
TRI-MATCH INFO
Saturday, Sept. 13
11 a.m. – Concordia vs. Peru State
1 p.m. – Friends vs. Peru State
3 p.m. – Concordia vs. Friends
Site: Seward, Neb.
Arena: Walz Arena
Webcast: Concordia Sports Network
National Recognition
Concordia received some national respect on Tuesday when it garnered 11 points in the first regular-season NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. In the official GPAC ratings released on Monday by the NAIA, the Bulldogs were placed fifth.
“I think we handled that pretty well in that we took confidence from it,” Mattera said about the national votes. “Obviously we got punched in the mouth a bit on Wednesday night (four-set loss at No. 9 Midland), but we fought back. We need to be a cleaner, more consistent team, point-in and point-out. I think we’re starting to understand, now that we’re getting votes no one is taking us lightly.”
Concordia volleyball last appeared inside the NAIA’s top 25 poll during the preseason of 2001 when it checked in at No. 20. During the 2000 season, then head coach Rebecca Ernstmeyer’s Bulldogs garnered top 25 billing in eight different polls, rising as high as 12th on Sept. 26. They finished the season at 23-13 overall and 9-1 in the GPAC, earning a share of the conference title. Concordia was ranked 18th in the final poll that season.
Official GPAC ratings (Sept. 8)
1. Northwestern
2. Midland
3. Hastings
4. Dordt
5. Concordia
6. Briar Cliff
7. Doane
8. Morningside
9. Mount Marty
10. Dakota Wesleyan
Strong Up the Middle
One reason for Concordia’s resurgence is the strong play from its middles. The Bulldogs rank 31st in the NAIA in hitting percentage behind the great production of middles in sophomore Taylor Workman (66 kills, .429 hitting percentage, 31 blocks), senior Mariah Schamp (63 kills, .333, 17 blocks) and freshman Annie Friesen (12 kills, .250, 10 blocks). Workman had the biggest statistical match of her career when she hammered a career-high 15 kills on 21 swings in the four-set win over Hope International University (Calif.) on Aug. 30. Schamp now has 671 career kills over 380 sets the past four seasons. Meanwhile, Friesen continues to improve in her first collegiate season. She had a season best four blocks in Wednesday’s match at No. 9 Midland.
“It’s been a great situation,” Mattera said. “Of course our middles are competitive. All three want to be in all the time but they’ve handled it beautifully the way we’ve rotated the three of them through. I think it’s helping them in terms of being fresher. We’re not taxing their bodies nearly as much.
“If you look at our matches when our middles are connecting and getting the ball a lot, we’re really, really good.”
Who Can It Be Now?
As Midland head coach Paul Giesselmann commented before taking on Concordia on Wednesday, you can’t hope to defeat the Bulldogs by simply stopping one player. Led by those powerful middles, Mattera’s squad has seven players with 23 or more kills on the season, giving sophomore setter Alayna Kavanaugh plenty of options. Last year’s team kills leader Claire White (339 kills in 2013), again tops the Bulldogs with her 102 kills in 2014. Even Kavanaugh has chipped in 30 herself. As a team, Concordia ranks 38th in the NAIA with 12.4 kills per game.
Concordia kills leaders
1. Claire White – 102
2. Paige Getz – 94
3. Taylor Workman – 66
4. Mariah Schamp – 63
5. Tiegen Skains – 50
6. Alayna Kavanaugh – 30
7. Kelsey Dinkel – 23
Scouting Friends
Saturday’s battle between Concordia and Friends is a rematch of their Sept. 6 meeting at the Hastings College Classic where the Bulldogs fended off the Falcons in four sets. Since then, Friends has played just one match, earning a straight-sets win over Saint Mary (Kan.) to improve to 8-7 overall. Bailey Burnett ranks 31st nationally with 5.1 digs per game. Morgan Riley is the team leader with 104 kills over 48 sets played. Guided by 11th-year head coach Martin Ayin, Friends has won 20-or-more matches six-straight seasons.
“Friends is a really nice team,” Mattera said. “It’s almost like playing against a team that runs a triple option. They do some things that you don’t see all the time, especially with their setter and the moves she makes. They’re tough to play. They have some really nice middles. We’re definitely not going to be taking them lightly.”
Scouting Peru State
The Bobcats have a first-year head coach in Nathan Baker. Coming off a 21-14 season in 2013, Peru State is out to a 6-4 record. Baker’s squad has already played one GPAC opponent, falling in four sets to Doane on Aug. 22 in the season opener for both teams. The Bobcats then won five in a row prior to dropping three of their past four matches. Outside hitter Rian Kirby has racked up 103 kills and is hitting .291. Concordia last played Peru State in an official match on Sept. 7, 2012, when the Bulldogs won in four sets.
“We saw Peru in the spring,” Mattera said. “Coach Baker is a really solid guy with a really good résumé and really good reputation. I’m sure he’ll have them ready to go.”
