Concordia volleyball sweeps Mount Vernon Nazarene, ensuring their quarterfinal appearance
Senior middle Gabi Nordaker (11, left) and junior outside hitter Kya Scott (13, right) team up to block a spike from the opposing team (photo from previous match).
Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh
By Cohen Carpenter
Concordia put an exclamation mark on pool play with their 16th sweep of the season versus the No. 13 seed Mount Vernon Nazarene, winning 25-18, 25-15, 25-21. The win ensured a quarterfinal game for Ben Boldt’s squad, who had made it at least this far in the NAIA tournament three times out of the last five years.
The Bulldogs are on a mission, which is apparent to any viewer who may stumble across a Concordia match at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. After an earlier-than-expected exit from the NAIA playoffs last season, it is clear that this 2024 squad is not going to let this opportunity fall by the wayside; the proof is in the box scores.
Gabi Nordaker, a senior who has been with the squad through two disappointing pool-play exits in 2022 and 2023, left no doubt as to her intentions Friday afternoon. The Omaha native led the team in hitting percentage (of players with multiple attempts) with .412, getting a kill on nine of her 17 attempts. Furthermore, she was instrumental at the net with three blocking assists.
For a team that prides themselves on their hitting percentage and potent offensive attack, the Bulldogs have been putting in work at the net in recent outings. In total, Concordia had 18 blocking assists on Friday, a massive number when compared to the Cougar’s nine. Leading the way in that category was Ava Green. The sophomore from Papillion, Nebraska had six blocking assists. The team’s domination at the net was most apparent in the second set.
To begin the second set, Concordia went on a 4-0 run featuring a Nordaker kill and a junior Kate Griess ace. The Cougars fought back and began a quick tit-for-tat eventually shrinking their deficit to two, only down 6-4. At that moment, Concordia shifted to high gear and won 15 of the next 19 points and got up 21-8. This onslaught featured three service aces, and six kills—the final nail in the coffin of Mount Vernon’s season.
To nobody’s surprise, junior Ashley Keck led the team in kills with 12 along with five digs and a couple blocking assists. All-in-all, everybody partook in the offensive action Friday afternoon, with all but three Bulldogs attempting a kill. This includes the likes of juniors Savannah Shelburne and Lily Psencik, who lead the team night in and night out with assists, this time with 10 and 22 respectively. In fact, Psencik led the team in hitting percentage, getting a kill on her lone attacking attempt.
Elsewhere in pool play, the best team in the country both according to the coaches poll and in the playoff seeding, the Northwestern Red Raiders, did not manage to escape pool play. Just like Concordia demonstrated in year’s past—high seeded teams are not immune to upsets in the NAIA tournament.
This time the No.1 seed was dethroned by No. 16 Montana Western, who handed the Red Raiders their first loss of the season, ending their season. The loss for Northwestern eliminates the possibility of Concordia seeing them again for a third time this year in a potential semifinal matchup.
Northwestern’s premature exit doesn’t mean Concordia loses out on the opportunity for revenge. In fact, Concordia has the pleasure of playing Bellevue in the quarterfinal. The game represents a rematch from their August 30th bout in which Bellevue swept Concordia 3-0 as part of the CSM Labor Day Classic. This time around, it will be the No. 4 seed versus the No. 5 seed. Concordia versus Bellevue part two tips off at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Sioux City, Iowa.
