Volleyball sweeps Waldorf Warriors 3-0, bounces back from earlier loss
Junior defensive specialist Kate Griess (9) winds up for a serve.
Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh
By Cohen Carpenter
After a tough loss to Northwestern, No. 4 Concordia volleyball bounced back nicely with a 3-0 sweep over the Waldorf University Warriors on Friday, 25-17, 33-31, 25-13.
The Warriors came into the game struggling, as the newest team to the Great Plains Athletic Conference has had a rough start to the season. The loss moved Waldorf to 9-8 on the season and 3-5 in the conference.
The game was highlighted by a second set in which the Concordia offense featured 24 kills. However, Waldorf was able to keep it close with the Bulldogs committing 11 errors and only hitting .191 in the game’s second frame.
The Warriors staved off defeat in the second frame with an 4-0 run after Concordia was threatening to close it out up 20-24. From that point onward, two kills and two errors led to a tie set that eventually saw 64 total points.
The Bulldogs, who are second in the GPAC in hitting percentage at .246 on the season, opened and closed the game with two lethal offensive sets. In the opening frame, Concordia boasted 18 kills to open the game, only committing two errors on 35 total attacks. Bookended with the dominant opening was the third set, where the Bulldogs shut things down with 12 kills, hitting .286.
Offensively, kills were like candy for Concordia, as four Bulldogs were in double digits in the kill column. Junior Ashley Keck, senior Gabi Nordaker and sophomore Ella Waters all posted 13, with Nordaker being the most efficient. The senior hit .611 on the day, only committing two errors and added a team-leading six blocks. Waters was almost as efficient, hitting .458. Keck, who leads the team in kills, only hit .200 but did add a team-leading 13 digs.
In the back court, it was again the tandem of junior Lily Psencik and junior Savannah Shelburne that led the way in assists. Both of the juniors featured 22 on the day, with Psencik posting nine digs and Shelburne three.
The win marked the squad’s sixth win in the conference and represented a return to form after a difficult and hard-fought loss versus the No. 1 team in the nation, when Northwestern bested the Bulldogs 3-2 over homecoming weekend. The win over Waldorf (and subsequent win over Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday) puts the Bulldogs squarely in second place in the conference with a 7-1 record in the GPAC and a 14-2 overall record.
Following the two-game sweep, the Bulldogs will be returning to Seward for another pair of back-to-back matchups. Friday October 11, Concordia hosts Briar Cliff (6-14, 0-8 GPAC) at 7:30 p.m. and then turn right back around to play Morningside (17-6, 5-3 GPAC) on Saturday at 3 p.m.