Bulldog volleyball wins 3-1 over Mount Marty on the night of Gabi Nordaker’s 1,000th kill milestone

Photo description: Senior Camryn Opfer keeps the ball live with a dig as the team looks on

Photo credit: Bailey Mooney

Darien Semedo

Sower Staff

The No. 2-ranked Concordia Bulldog Volleyball team stays undefeated after beating Mount Marty 3-1, with junior Gabi Nordaker hitting her 1,000th kill Wednesday night in Seward.

Coming into the night, Gabi Nordaker was 10 kills away from her 1,000th kill, and hit the mark in the third set. The crowd came prepared, as after the kill hit the court “1,000 kills” signs shot up into the crowd. Nordaker is now the 10th Bulldog to hit the mark. Nordaker was embraced by family and friends postgame, showing her thanks for the support.

“I am thankful for my teammates; I have learned so much from them and I know that they’ve got my back. I’ll always be thankful for them,” Nordaker said.

Assistant Coach Angie Boldt added to the praise of Nordaker, noting the impressiveness of the milestone as well as her overall play.

“Getting 1,000 kills is a huge feat and you could tell she was amped up. She wasn’t going to leave the night without the kills,” Boldt said. “Her mentality is one that is going to get the kill or block every time. She always rises to the moment, and you saw that with the milestone on the night.”

The Bulldogs came out hot, taking the first set 25-9 and showing their elite level offense with 17 kills. The Lancers were able to win an extended set two 27-25 due to a couple of mistakes made by the Bulldogs: eight errors. Assistant Coach Angie Boldt was proud of the team’s grind to win the game, but credited the Lancers for their scrappy play, digging attacks that normally land for the Bulldogs.

“We were proud of the team and the way they grinded it out. They kept a lot of attacks we expected to go down up, so credit to them,” Boldt explained.

The Bulldogs controlled the rest of the night on both defense and offense. The Bulldogs won sets three and four, only allowing seven and six kills respectively while also cutting the errors from the second set in half. On the night the Bulldogs had 11 blocks and held the Lancers to a .019 hitting percentage. Libero Rebecca Gebhardt led the way with 25 digs, with three other Bulldogs hitting double figures. Gebhardt knows the strength of their offense and focuses on keeping the ball alive for them to win games.

“My focus on defense is to keep the ball alive; we have great hitters that take care of the ball,” Gebhardt explained. “Coach Boldt reminds us that we know how to play volleyball – just keep the momentum, play with energy and control the controllable.”

Setter Bree Burtwistle has been integral for the team, racking up her third Great Plains Athletic Conference Setter of the Week award in a row. Nothing changed tonight as she put up another 44 assists against the Lancers. Burtwistle also hit 2,500 career assists and is still pacing the GPAC in assists this year. Burtwistle credited the team’s attitude and focus on practice as why their offense has been clicking at its high rate.

“I’d say we are coming to practice with the focus mindset. We have two goals in mind: a GPAC Championship in season and tournament, and a National Championship,” Burtwistle said.

The Bulldogs have worked to a 12-0 (5-0 GPAC) record up to this point, boasting multiple players near the top of key statistical categories in the GPAC. For their next game, the team will welcome Dordt (1-10, 0-5 GPAC) to Seward on homecoming Saturday.