Courtesy of Midland Athletics
SEWARD, Neb. – It was a Top 10 battle inside Friedrich Arena on Wednesday night at No. 9 Midland University traveled to take on No. 2 Concordia University for a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) match. The unbeaten Bulldogs kept their record clean as they took the first meeting of the year in three sets over the Warriors (25-16, 25-22, 25-21).
The opening set saw Concordia jump out to a 10-3 lead thanks in part to a 7-1 run. Midland regrouped and pulled within a pair of points at 17-15. An 8-1 surge to close out the set by the Bulldogs gave them a leg up in the match. 25-16.
A 7-2 start by the Warriors looked promising to start the second. Concordia would use a timeout to refocus and after Midland went up 12-6, a big run by CU pulled the game even at 14-14.
From there, the Bulldogs went on a 4-1 run to take a comfortable lead. The teams traded points down the stretch as Concordia won 25-22 to take control of the match.
In the third, back-and-forth points by the two sides was the theme early. Through the 18 points, there were eight ties. Concordia broke free with back-to-back points to go up 11-9. They would add to their lead with a 6-0 run a few points later.
Trailing 11-18, Midland broke the serve and went on a five-point run to narrow the gap. That would be the closest they would get as the Bulldogs closed out the set 25-21 for the sweep.
In the match, the Warriors hit .177 on the attack while the Bulldogs had a .342 hitting percentage. It was even at the net defensively with each team garnering seven blocks. Lauryn Samuelson had a hand in on five for Midland, including one solo stuff.
Leading the way offensively in kills were Jacki Apel and Abbey Ringler with seven kills each. Cortlyn Schaefer and Addy Mosier each had six while Samuelson finished with five.
Organizing the offense for MU were Brena Mackling and Brielle Power. Mackling had 16 set assists while Power aided on 14 successful attacks.
In the back row, Delanie Vallinch and Kailyn Scott led the way with 10 digs each. Mackling added seven while Power dug up six.
“Give Concordia credit, they are a good team,” commented head coach Paul Giesselmann. “We continue to make the same mental and physical mistakes that allow our opponents to make runs. We look good in stretches but have to get a lot better at being consistent. We will continue to work to get better in practice. We’ll be ready for the next opportunity.”
Midland (5-5, 1-1 GPAC) will have a week before its next match. They’ll host No. 21 Hastings (XX) next Wednesday in another high-caliber conference showdown. Last year, the teams split their regular-season series and then met in the first round of the GPAC Tournament. The first serve in the first meeting of 2023 is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center on September 13.
