Volleyball loses to Northwestern Raiders 3-2 but keeps spot in national tournament
From left to right: junior Kya Scott, senior Gabi Nordaker and junior Addie Kierkegaard prepare for a ball from the opposing team (photo from previous match).
Photo credit: Maddy Peters
By Kai Olbrich
The No. 2 Concordia Bulldog volleyball team fell just short of conference glory for the fourth year in a row, losing the No. 1 Northwestern Raiders 3-2 for the second time this season.
The top two teams in the country met for the second time this season, this time in the Great Plains Athletic Conference final in Orange City, Iowa. It has been a long-anticipated matchup with their records and rankings suggesting that another meeting between the two was imminent. It was a chance for the Bulldogs to not only defeat the Raiders, but to make their case for being the No. 1 team in the nation.
Just like in their first meeting, Concordia took the first set in convincing fashion, winning it 25-19 with a monster hitting percentage of .414. On just 29 attempts the Bulldogs had 16 kills and just 4 errors.
The Raiders answered back with a 25-18 second win in a second set that was sloppy for both teams. The Raiders hit below their average at .146, but the Bulldogs dropped well below even that, mustering just .083.
The Bulldogs won an impressive third set 25-18. The Bulldogs built up a 10-point lead early on, making it 16-6. They then did it again later with a 21-11 advantage before winning by a margin of seven.
The Raiders won 25-17 in the penultimate set in part due to some of Concordia’s worst hitting of the season. On 47 attempts the Bulldogs garnered 12 kills but had 11 errors to go along with it, giving them just a .021 hitting percentage.
The 2-2 scoreline meant that both teams would play a fifth set for just the fifth time this season and snap Northwestern’s seven-game sweep streak. The Bulldogs took a 7-6 lead in the fifth set, but the Raiders were able to come back to win it 15-11 and subsequently take the GPAC title for the second year in a row.
A big key to the success of the Raiders was senior outside hitter Jazlin Douma. Douma dominated at the net with a career game high 33 kills on a massive .309 percentage. The Raiders hit .223 as a team compared to just .142 from the Bulldogs. Concordia as a team has averaged .234 hitting throughout the GPAC season, but the only individual to meet or exceed that number was senior Gabi Nordaker with .250 and nine kills.
Junior Kya Scott led the team in kills with 12, closely followed by junior Ashley Keck with 11. Senior Rebecca Gebhardt posted a team-high 20 digs and junior Lily Psencik led with 28 set assists. The teams were even with 11 team blocks. Nordaker had a team-high six block-assists and had the lone solo block.
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs still qualified for the national tournament with an automatic bid. The winner of the GPAC tournament and league both qualify for the national tournament, but since Northwestern won both, it goes to the tournament runners-up Concordia. This is Concordia’s sixth straight appearance in the national tournament.
Concordia now has a 24-3 overall record. The Bulldogs will host Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas) in the first round of nationals on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults/seniors and $5 for students and youth. Only those with National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics passes are admitted for free.
