Anticipated showdown lives up to hype; Red Raiders clip Bulldogs in five
BOX SCORE
VIDEO: Postgame reaction from Head Coach Ben Boldt
SEWARD, Neb. – The homecoming (Sept. 28) matchup between the GPAC’s two highest rated teams lived up to its billing. After absorbing a blow to start the match, the fourth-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team responded nicely before eventually being edged out in five sets by top-ranked Northwestern. The Red Raiders emerged from hostile territory with the victory, 25-17, 16-25, 16-25, 25-15, 15-12, in front of a spirted Friedrich Arena crowd.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad fell for the first time inside conference play and now stands at 12-2 overall (5-1 GPAC). Four of the past five Concordia-Northwestern meetings have gone to five sets.
“It stinks to lose, but we talk about learning (from this),” Boldt said. “We got to a point where we were competing. After that first set, ‘We were like, ‘Oh, man, what are we going to do about this?’ That’s a victim mentality. We called them out and told them to go compete. We got ourselves there and we got to where it was tight in the last set. The point where we were down 13-12, we took a swing and just missed on that. We’re going to watch that film and talk about what our block needs to do, specifically against Northwestern. I thought we matched up with them a whole lot better than we have in the past.”
It was anyone’s game in the fifth set. The decibel levels spiked when Addie Kirkegaard landed a kill to knot the score, 10-10. Northwestern then turned to reigning GPAC Player of the Year Jazlin Douma for back-to-back kills to help send it on its way. Following a Bulldog attack error, Alysen Dexter ended the match with a kill. The undefeated Red Raiders (16-0, 6-0 GPAC) showed off their championship mettle while being pushed to the brink for the first time in conference play.
Despite the loss, Concordia learned a lot of mostly good things about where it sits. The Bulldogs struggled against the mighty block of Northwestern in the opening set. Concordia then responded after being challenged in the huddle by the Boldts. Several individuals took turns rising to the occasion. Four Bulldogs produced exactly 12 kills: Ashley Keck, Kirkegaard, Gabi Nordaker and Kya Scott. Concordia hit .235 in the second set and then a sizzling .517 in the third. The second set ended on a Lily Psencik ace and the third was polished off by a Keck kill.
But Douma and the Red Raiders are a challenge to put away. Douma racked up a match high 24 kills while hitting .340 from the outside. There were three Northwestern players who got in on at least four blocks, including NAIA national blocks leader Zavyr Metzger. The Red Raiders owned advantages of 11-7 in blocks and .252 to .204 in hitting percentage.
Both teams featured a 6-2 system. Concordia setter Lily Psencik accumulated 27 assists, 12 digs and an ace while fellow setter Savannah Shelburne recorded 25 assists, eight digs and two aces. Becca Gebhardt led the back row with 13 digs and Nordaker and Kirkegaard came away with five blocks apiece.
Said Boldt, “Looking at this, I think we can play better. That part excites me about what we can be. We have to learn. It’s not going to be easy, but we’re going to keep getting incrementally better.” Added Boldt in explaining the lopsided nature of the first four sets of the day, “Matchups can be overwhelming sometimes. When you don’t have your best side-out rotation, that sometimes can be weak against a tough server. No. 2, if there’s a stuff block that happens, that can take you out of your rhythm. Those things sometimes pile up. In those sets, it was a game of runs.”
The lengthiest road trip of the conference regular season schedule is coming up next weekend (Oct. 4-5) when the Bulldogs will be headed to Waldorf (8-7, 2-4 GPAC) and Dakota Wesleyan (8-8, 3-2 GPAC). The Warriors of Forest City, Iowa, are in their first season as a GPAC member. Concordia has won its first two GPAC road matches while taking care of Mount Marty and Doane.
