Courtesy of Midland Athletics
SEWARD, Neb. – It was a meeting of old rivals on Wednesday as No. 20-ranked Midland University traveled to face No. 4-ranked Concordia University in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Tournament. The teams, who met in last year’s conference semifinals, squared off for the third time this season inside Friedrich Arena. The third-seeded Warriors took the opening set over the second-seeded Bulldogs but were unable to secure their first win in the series this season, falling in four sets (22-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-20).
With both sides familiar with each other’s strengths, the opening set was tight from the start. Midland held a quick 3-1 lead before Concordia rallied to go in front 10-7. The Warriors tied it at 11, and from there the teams traded points until the Bulldogs went on an extended run to take a 19-16 lead, prompting a timeout from the visitors’ bench.
Coming out of the break, Midland chipped away at the deficit quickly, using a three-point rally to pull within one at 21-20, which forced Concordia to call its first timeout. After the Warriors took four of the next five points, the Bulldogs called their second timeout, attempting to halt Midland’s momentum.
It stayed with the Warriors as Lauren Jones delivered back-to-back kills to close the set, 25-22. It was a balanced attack from Midland, with Abree Plueger, Brooklynn Snyder, and Jones each tallying four kills. Macey Jackson and Abby Spidle each added two as Midland hit .245 in the set, while Concordia was limited to .217. The Bulldogs committed three attack errors down the stretch that helped swing both the scoreboard and the momentum.
The teams traded runs early in the second set. After the Bulldogs went up 5-2, the Warriors scored four straight to take the lead, but it was short-lived as Concordia responded with a 6-1 run to regain control. The Bulldogs’ lead grew as Midland struggled to hold serve.
Trailing 20-14, the Warriors managed to string together a few consecutive points, but the run was not enough as Concordia took the set 25-18 to even the match at one set apiece. The Bulldogs hit .400 in the frame while Midland was limited to .118 with 10 kills and six errors. Jackson led with three kills, while Cameran Jansky and Spidle each recorded two.
In the third, Midland’s balanced attack helped it build an early lead, which grew to 11-7 before Concordia responded with a five-point run to take over. The Bulldogs held the advantage up to 23-19, forcing Midland to call its second timeout.
After the break, the Warriors gave up one point before going on a five-point rally to tie the score at 24-24. The comeback, however, fell just short as the Bulldogs scored the next two points to win the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Snyder paced Midland with four kills in the third set, while Plueger added three. The Warriors hit .239 as a team while Concordia dipped slightly to .216.
Looking to close out the match, the Bulldogs opened the fourth with a 7-2 run. The teams traded points evenly up to 13-9 before Midland used a 6-2 spurt to tie things at 15-15. Following another tie at 16, Concordia took control once more, building a 23-17 lead. Midland responded with three straight points to force a quick timeout from the home bench, but the Bulldogs regrouped and closed out the set 25-20 to win the match in four.
“This is the first time in three years that I’ve walked out of here feeling like we left it all out there,” said head coach Micah Rhodes. “There were definitely stretches where we were in a rut, and against a good team, you can’t give them four or five points in a row. We were down 24-19 in the third set and battled back to 24-all. Once again, that shows the resiliency of this team and their ‘we’re not going to quit’ mentality.”
For the match, Midland hit .199 with 58 kills, while Concordia recorded 64 kills with a .281 hitting percentage.
Leading the way for the Warriors were Snyder and Plueger with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Jansky added nine, while Spidle and Jackson each finished with eight.
Orchestrating the attack were setters Brena Mackling and Jaysa Wentzlaff. Mackling had 27 assists, while Wentzlaff added 24 as the Warriors stayed in system most of the night.
Defensively, Midland totaled five blocks at the net. Spidle and Jansky each had two block assists, while Jackson added one assist and a solo block.
In the back row, three Warriors reached double figures in digs. Claire Johnson led with 15, followed by Delainey Cast with 14 and Mackling with 11.
“With our conference and preseason schedule, I think we couldn’t be any more prepared for next week, hosting an opening-round match,” Rhodes added.
Midland (18-10) now awaits its seeding and placement in the NAIA Opening Round. The Warriors finished ranked No. 20 in the final coaches’ poll, No. 17 in the most recent RPI, and No. 6 in the Midwest ARC Rating. The NAIA will announce the 48-team national tournament field on Monday at 4 p.m.
