Courtesy of Midland Athletics
FREMONT, Neb. – It was a meeting of familiar foes as No. 19 Midland University hosted No. 4 Concordia University on Saturday evening inside the Wikert Event Center. The Warriors, who fell to the Bulldogs earlier this season in September, were in control early with wins in the first two sets. However, Concordia rallied to force a decisive fifth and completed the regular-season sweep with a comeback victory (20-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-9).
Each team had its runs in the opening set. Concordia jumped out to an early lead before Midland responded with a 10-3 surge to go up 12-9. After ties at 15 and 16, the Warriors used a four-point rally to seize control. The Bulldogs were unable to recover as the home team closed out the set, 25-20.
The second set featured a back-and-forth battle, with neither side able to string together a run longer than three points until late. Out of a timeout, the Bulldogs mounted a five-point swing to erase a 19-15 deficit and take the lead. The teams traded points down the stretch until Midland regained control, taking a 24-23 edge and sealing the set on an Abree Pluegerkill, 25-23, to go up 2-0.
The third set was equally competitive, featuring seven ties and four lead changes. Concordia’s six-point run midway through gave the visitors an 18-14 advantage. Midland was unable to answer with a rally of its own, and the Bulldogs took the set, 25-19.
In the fourth, the Warriors looked to finish the match, while the Bulldogs aimed to extend it. After seven ties up to 9-9, Concordia went on a six-point run and appeared poised to force a fifth. Midland battled back with an 11-3 surge to take a 20-18 lead, but the Bulldogs regrouped and used a series of short runs to retake control. On their third set point, they clinched a 25-23 win to even the match.
Midland took the first three points of the fifth set before momentum shifted. Concordia surged ahead 8-5 at the side change, prompting a Warrior timeout. The brief pause slowed the Bulldogs momentarily, but they regained control to complete the reverse sweep with a 15-9 win.
“I told the team before the match, scouting report aside, I wanted to see them go out and believe that they belong on the court with a team like that,” said head coach Micah Rhodes. “It stunk that a couple of points here or there in the third set — I thought we were going to sweep them. I felt really confident. Their experience and maturity kind of took over in the end. They’ve got mostly juniors and seniors, while we’ve got a lot of sophomores and freshmen. We would have liked to pull it out, but at the same time, we battled with a really solid opponent.”
Midland hit .203 for the match while Concordia posted a .288 mark. Leading the Warriors was Brooklynn Snyder with 21 kills, followed by Abree Plueger with 16 and Macey Jacksonwith 11.
Brena Mackling and Jaysa Wentzlaff ran the offense with 28 and 27 assists, respectively. Liberos Claire Johnson and Sydney Guthard each added three assists on out-of-system plays.
Defensively, Guthard recorded 10 digs, while Mackling and Tori Walker each had nine. Eight other Warriors tallied multiple digs, led by Delainey Cast with eight.
At the net, Cameran Jansky led the team with four block assists, while Snyder added three. The Warriors finished with five total blocks compared to 17 for Concordia, which entered the night ranked seventh nationally in blocks per set (2.55).
Midland (16-9, 11-4 GPAC) will look to close out the regular season on a high note when it hosts Hastings College (6-19, 3-12 GPAC) next week. The Warriors will welcome the Broncos to town for Senior Night on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Prior to the varsity match, Midland will honor its senior class and their families. The Warriors have secured the No. 3 seed in the GPAC postseason tournament, while Hastings was eliminated from contention following its five-set loss to the College of Saint Mary on Saturday.
