MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin women's volleyball team punched its ticket to the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament on Thursday night with a commanding 3-0 sweep of Marian inside the R. John Buuck Field House. The Falcons claimed the match 25-14, 25-16, 25-22 to secure the seventh seed in the NACC Tournament.
The victory improved the Blue and White to 13-12 overall and 6-6 in NACC play.
The Falcons wasted little time establishing control in the opening set. With the score tied at two, Concordia Wisconsin used a 7-1 run to build a 9-3 advantage. The Blue and White continued to apply pressure from the service line, with junior Madison Cimbalnik (Sturtevant, Wis.) recording back-to-back service aces to extend the lead to 12-5. The Falcons never looked back, closing the opening set on a 4-1 run to claim a 25-14 victory.
Concordia Wisconsin continued its momentum into the second set, jumping ahead 6-2 behind a kill and service ace from senior Emily Dickmann (Grafton, Wis.) and a kill from freshman Natalie Nickolai (Sheboygan Falls, Wis.).
The Falcons delivered the decisive blow midway through the set. Leading 11-8, the Blue and White rattled off seven consecutive points behind the serving of freshman Makenna Thompson (McCordsville, Ind.). Thompson collected three service aces during the run, while freshman Bailey Bonde (Seymour, Ind.) capped the surge with a kill to extend the advantage to 18-8.
Concordia Wisconsin continued to roll, stretching the lead to 22-9 before Nickolai delivered the final kill in a 25-16 victory. The Falcons hit an impressive .414 in the second set while collecting six service aces.
The Blue and White carried that energy into the third set, racing out to a 7-1 lead. Nickolai fueled the early surge with consecutive kills, while Dickmann added a service ace.
Marian battled back, cutting the Concordia advantage to 12-9, but the Falcons responded with three consecutive points to regain control at 15-9.
The Sabres made one final push late in the set, trimming the deficit to 21-19. Bonde answered with back-to-back kills to push the Falcons ahead 23-19. Marian fought off two match points before freshman Brianna Stewart (De Pere, Wis.) slammed home the match-winning kill to secure the sweep, 25-22.
Nickolai led the Concordia attack with 11 kills on an impressive .500 hitting percentage while adding six digs and two block assists. Sophomore Kirsten Krause (Pocatello, Idaho) finished with eight kills and five digs, while Stewart contributed five kills and five total blocks.
Dickmann directed the Falcon offense with 23 assists, 10 digs and two service aces. Bonde added five kills without an attacking error, hitting .500 on the evening.
The Concordia serving attack proved to be a difference-maker throughout the match. The Falcons finished with 11 service aces, including three apiece from Thompson, Cimbalnik and freshman Emy Miller (West Bend, Wis.).
As a team, the Blue and White hit .295 with 34 kills and seven total blocks while limiting Marian to a .165 hitting percentage.
The Falcons close the regular season on Saturday when they host Carthage inside the R. John Buuck Field House.
