Persistence leads Concordia volleyball to a 3-1 victory over the College of Saint Mary 

Concordia volleyball celebrates a win over Morningside (photo from previous game).

Photo: Benjamin Frerking

By Ransom Watts

After a comfortable first set, the Concordia volleyball team dug deep to take the third and fourth rounds after dropping a lopsided second set to the College of Saint Mary Flames.

The Bulldogs got away to an early lead in the first set after pummeling the Flames’ defense. Several attack errors on the part of the College of Saint Mary gave the Bulldogs a comfortable bubble, which they were able to ride until the twenty-fifth point. A sign of Concordia’s powerful net presence can be seen in the nine total errors allowed by the Flames in the first set compared to just one by Concordia.  

After a dominant first set, things did not quite go according to plan for the Bulldogs. The Flames turned up the heat and were able to catch Concordia off guard and see consistent success on the attack. After a full set of back-and-forth action, the points continued to climb on both sides until it was 22-19 in favor of College of Saint Mary. Despite regaining composure after a timeout, two back-to-back errors gave the Flames victory in the second set.   

In the third set, the Flames were able to make the Bulldogs work hard again to keep the score within a small margin. The Bulldogs however continued to attack relentlessly and put pressure on St Mary’s defense who managed just two block assists across the entire match against Concordia.  

After the second set, which saw Concordia with a .143 kill percentage, the Bulldogs rebounded thanks in part to a few standout performances to get their numbers back to .243. Sophomore Ella Brueggemann had 18 assists across the entire game and contributed to keeping the Bulldogs afloat in the third set. Other notable performances came from freshman Samantha Kimbell and sophomore Makenna Starkey, who both helped the Bulldogs widen the gap late in the third set to win 25-20.  

In the fourth set, the Bulldogs showed the same level of dominance as in the first. They put offensive pressure on the Flames to force defensive errors. In the end, the Bulldogs were ahead by more than ten at 25-13 and came home with the win.  

Next Saturday, the lead-up to the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament continues in Fremont, Nebraska, where the Bulldogs face the Midland University Vikings in another GPAC showdown.