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Sarah Kelly notched one of her UMD-best kills past Southwest State’s Taylor Reiss in Saturday’s UMD sweep. Photo credit: John Gilbert

When it comes to college volleyball, it simply doesn’t get any better than this: UMD against Concordia. Or, Concordia against UMD. Whichever one you want to list first, all we can be sure of is that they are the top two teams in Division II women’s volleyball. A week ago, UMD was holding firmly to the No. 1 rank, but the Bulldogs were upset by Sioux Falls right in Romano Gym last Friday. UMD came back to knock off No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State in three sets.

   But when the new ratings came out, the loss to unranked but very strong Sioux Falls cost the Bulldogs more than the victory over No. 2 Southwest Minnesota bolstered them, so UMD dropped from No. 1 to No. 2, with SW Minnesota dropping to No. 4. The new No. 1? That would be Concordia, which swept two matches over the weekend and vaulted from No. 3 to No. 1.

Southwest State star Eisha Oden pounded one of her 12 kills against UMD. Photo credit: John Gilbert

   Perfect timing, too, because that creates the perfect scenario for Friday at 7 p.m. at Romano Gym, when No. 1 Concordia takes on No. 2 UMD. It’s the perfect parallel to what the UMD hockey team did last weekend as the No. 2 team, knocking off No. 1 North Dakota twice to take the top spot by force. Volleyball faces a similar challenge, although beating Concordia at both home sites is an enormous order.

   The Bulldogs defeated Concordia in an extremely tight 5-set match at the end of September, and the fact that the two are the perennial top two in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and are currently in a three-way tie (with Southwest Minnesota) for the NSIC lead just adds to the intrigue.

   “Southwest, Concordia and us play a more traditional stsyle,” said UMD coach Jim Boos. “We all receive well, control the ball well and attack well. Sioux Falls plays a style that has often given us trouble. They play long, they pinch in and they’re good at blocking chances. It wasn’t like we didn’t play well against Sioux Falls -- we played well, but credit Sioux Falls.

UMD’s tandem block by Allison Olley, left, and Sarah Kelly proved a good defense can be the best offense against Southwest’s Taylor Reiss. Photo credit: John Gilbert

   “We went into the Sioux Falls match knowing we had a tough match with Southwest the next day, and it turned out we lost and had to play Southwest with a 2-game losing streak, something we’re not used to. Now we have the same thing again -- a tough match against Concordia Friday, but we’ve got to come right back and play Minnesota State-Mankato Saturday.”

   UMD’s impressive balance paid off against Southwest. Sarah Kelly led with 14 kills, while Tahlor Wissbroecker had 12 and Makenzie Morgen 10. The Bulldogs hit .303 to Southwest’s .182 in winning the first set 25-22, then had to squeeze by 25-23 while hitting .290 to Southwest’s .273 in the second set. The third set was as dramatic as volleyball gets, with the teams staying within three points of each other throughout. UMD led 19-16 then suddenly trailed 19-21; the Bulldogs led 24-22, then trailed 25-26. Finally, UMD pulled out a 29-27 victory for the hard-earned 3-0 sweep.

Football Finish

   UMD romped to a big lead and whipped Minnesota-Crookston in football last weekend, and they are big favorites against Mary at 1 p.m. Saturday on what looks like a perfect fall day at Malosky Stadium. It will be a special day for the Bulldogs, because unless they wind up with a home date for a playoff game, it will be the final game for a crop of seniors who have played huge roles in four years of success.

   Of course, quarterback Drew Bauer is the most prominent, but the starting offense also includes Beau Bofferding, who had played both wide receiver and running back -- sometimes in the same game -- and he rides into this game having scored eight touchdowns in the last two games. Running back Darren Walker is fighting an injury, but he also is a senior, as are center Willie Westerman, left tackle Peter Bateman, and right guard Connor Randall.

   On defense, nose guard Iaac Vesel, linebackers Beau Bates and Ben McDonald, and cornerback Tavaughn Blair are all seniors. At 5-0 atop the northern half of the conference, the Bulldogs are 8-1 overall. But they can’t afford to slip against Mary, or in their finale at St. Cloud State.