SEWARD, Neb. – No. 20 Midland University faced off against No. 3 Concordia University in a highly anticipated conference match on Saturday down in Seward, Nebraska. The Bulldogs claimed a four-set victory (25-21, 25-17, 15-25, 25-17) inside Friedrich Arena in the first meeting between the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) rivals since last season’s NAIA Championship showdown.
Looking to avenge their sweep in last year’s championship match, the Bulldogs took an early lead in the opening set of the match. A six-point run gave them a 14-7 advantage near the midway point. The Warriors attempted to climb back into the set but were not able to sustain a run longer than a couple of points as the first set went to the home team, 25-21.
Jacki Apel and Brooklynn Snyder led the attack in the opener with four kills each. Apel added a pair of block assists as the Warriors stuffed the Bulldogs three times at the net. Midland hit a match-low .044 though with 11 errors and 13 kills. Concordia hit .150 with 12 kills and only 6 errors.
In the second set, Concordia’s run came earlier as they went up 10-4 behind a five-point rally. Midland attempted a response with a three-point run to cut the lead in half but an equal three-point response eliminated any momentum gained. The Bulldogs closed out the second with a 7-2 run to win 25-17.
Concordia hit a match-best .500 in the second as Midland’s defense at the net was held without a block. The Warriors hit .211 behind four kills from Lauren Jones and three each by Snyder and Abbey Ringler.
Early in the third set, the two sides were trading points with five ties through the first 10 points. A four-point run put the Warriors in front. They withstood the Bulldogs’ attempts to claw back into the set and then wrapped up the third with an 8-3 run. The 25-15 win gave new life to the Midland sideline as they looked for the reverse sweep.
The Warriors had their best hitting set in the third with a .244 on the attack. Nearly half of their 15 kills came from Snyder who had seven in the set. Apel added three to go along with a pair of block assists. The Bulldogs were held to a .000 hitting mark with eight kills and eight errors.
The momentum spilled into the fourth with Midland sprinting to an 8-4 lead. Concordia flipped the switch a few points later as it embarked on a seven-point run to take control 16-12. The teams traded points after that with the Warriors unable to keep serve and put a run together. The Bulldogs closed out the set and the match with a 25-17 win.
For the match, Midland hit .146 on the attack and was led in kills by Brooklynn Snyder and Jacki Apel who had 18 and 11, respectively. Abbey Ringler, who was possibly playing in her hometown of Seward for the final time, had nine kills and three block assists. Paige Frickenstein had three block assists as well while Apel led the Warriors with four.
Orchestrating the attack were Brena Mackling and Stella Kuehl. Mackling had 23 set assists while Kuehl added 18 in Midland’s 6-2 system. Defensively, Delanie Vallinch had 17 digs to lead the way while Kuehl and Kailyn Scott both reached double digits with 10 digs. Delainey Cast was one dig shy of joining them with nine digs on the afternoon.
“It was an up-and-down match for us today. We got off to a poor start in set one with a lot of hitting errors,” commented head coach Paul Giesselmann. “Our blocking was very inconsistent today. In the first and third we blocked well, but in the second and fourth we had zero blocks.
“We have to learn how to play with more consistency. Us coaches have to do a much better job of figuring out how to get some of our players to stop making physical and mental errors over and over. We have a good week in front of us without a midweek match. We can use the extra time to focus in the gym and get better.”
Midland (6-7, 2-1 GPAC) will return to the court next weekend when it hosts Doane (4-9, 0-2 GPAC) next Saturday. First serve between the Warriors and Tigers is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center in Fremont, Neb.
