OMAHA, Neb. – The crowds keep gathering in road venues where the third-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball team descends upon. Unfazed, the Bulldogs keep dashing upset hopes with remarkable consistency. In action in Omaha on Wednesday (Oct. 16), Concordia swept away College of Saint Mary, 29-27, 25-16, 25-22, while hitting a smoldering .347 as a team. Addie Kirkegaard hit .464 and landed a career high 15 kills.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad remained undefeated in GPAC road matches (5-0) and has improved to 17-2 overall (10-1 GPAC). The Bulldogs remain one game in back of first place in the league standings.
“It was an offensive battle tonight,” Boldt said. “It was a fun one to watch. It’s always tough to get a ball down on College of Saint Mary. Towards the end there, there were a couple balls that we got a pretty got hold of and they got them up. We had to stay patient and work hard to get ourselves in positions to attack. We needed to lean on our strength of offense tonight.”
That’s exactly what Concordia did in pulling set No. 1 out of the fire. It took 23 kills to get it done. Gabi Nordaker came through with a kill for point No. 28 and Ashley Keck followed with another for point No. 29 to stamp out the threat. As part of the offensive onslaught, Keck and Kirkegaard went off for 15 kills apiece. Fittingly, it was a Kirkegaard kill that signaled match point in a competitive third set. The performance marked the eighth time this season that Kirkegaard has hit double figures in kills.
It was a fine evening for the setting duo of Lily Psencik (25 assists) and Savannah Shelburne (20 assists), who combined for 45 assists on the team’s 55 kills. In following Keck and Kirkegaard on the attack, Nordaker (eight), Kya Scott (seven) and Ava Greene (four) each supplied at least four kills. In addition, the Bulldogs enjoyed a sizable advantage in blocks, 8-1. The blocking efforts were led by Scott (five) and Nordaker (four) and Kate Griess contributed a pair of aces. Meanwhile, Becca Gebhardt topped the back row with 14 digs.
A tweak to the CSM lineup meant that the Flames (13-11, 4-7 GPAC) showcased a bit different look than what Concordia saw in the meeting in Seward back on Sept. 11 (won by the Bulldogs in four sets). Returning All-GPAC players Azaria Green and Grace Werner paced the home team with 12 kills apiece. CSM hit a solid .218 as it employed a 6-2 system of its own.
Said Boldt, “They recently switched up their rotation. They took one of their middles and put her on the right side, which really creates a different lineup for them. It was a great move for them. It was tough to defend, but we out-dug them and out-killed them … I thought Addie Kirkegaard had a great game. When we needed a kill, we tried to run some action away from her and then set Addie.”
A road trip to Sioux Center, Iowa, is coming up Saturday when the Bulldogs will take on Dordt (13-9, 7-4 GPAC). First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT from DeWitt Gymnasium, a place Concordia visited most recently in 2022 (resulting in a straight sets win for the Bulldogs). In Wednesday’s action versus Briar Cliff, the Defenders earned a victory in straight sets.
