Volleyball rakes in two more wins to finish out Labor Day tournament
Photo description: Senior Camryn Opfer tosses the ball for the beginning of her serve
Photo credit: CUNE Photo Gallery
Madeline Peters
Sports Editor
The Concordia volleyball team finished day two of the Labor Day Classic meet hosted by College of Saint Mary in North Sioux City, Iowa winning 3-0 against the Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes and 3-1 against the Park University (Mo.) Pirates.
The Bulldogs continued their winning streak both in general and in the Classic with a game against Kansas Wesleyan that lasted just over an hour. The first set went 25-19, the second went 25-15 and the third went 25-14.
The first set was neck-and-neck for the most part with the two teams vying for the lead. At the 17-point mark, Concordia took a definite lead in the set and pushed through to take it. The next two sets were won handedly by the Bulldogs, who did not give the Coyotes a chance to come back.
Sophomore Ashley Keck led the team in kills against the Coyotes with 11. Senior Bree Burtwistle led the team in assists and digs with 27 and nine respectively.
Game two for the day was a much bigger challenge. Park, who had beaten fellow Great Plains Athletic Conference rival Midland University in five sets, gave the Bulldogs a run for their money. The sets went 25-22 for Concordia, 25-16 for Concordia, 25-16 for Park and 25-23 for Concordia.
The first set looked good at first with Concordia maintaining a decent lead ahead of Park. However, the Pirates went on a 6-1 in the middle of the set to catch up. The Bulldogs managed to hold them off. In the second set, Concordia took an early lead and Park could only score a few points here and there to keep up.
The third set was a whole reversal. The Pirates took charge and left the Bulldogs floundering against their second wind. The fourth set was critical for the Bulldogs as their opponent had not only found its footing in the game, but was threatening a five-set game, which was the downfall of Midland earlier that day. The set was a back and forth the whole time, with no one able to take a definite lead. Concordia just barely squeezed in a two-point run at the end to win them the set and the game.
Keck was once again the top offensive player of the game with 14 kills total. Junior Gabi Nordaker and sophomore Kya Scott also put up 11 and 10 kills respectively. Burtwistle once again led the team in assists with 46. Juniors Rebecca Gebhardt and Cass Knust led the team in digs with 16 and 12 respectively.
The Bulldog women continue their undefeated streak, which is now 8-0 overall and 1-0 in the GPAC. Their next game is Sept. 6 against Midland University in Friedrich Arena at 7:30 p.m.
