OMAHA - The College of St. Mary’s volleyball team played its first home match under new coach Samantha Harvey on Wednesday night as they faced the visiting Concordia University Bulldogs.

After the Bulldogs took both of the first two games, Harvey’s Flames fought back to win game three. Unable to ride their momentum from the previous game, the Flames allowed Concordia to open up the fourth game with eight unanswered points. The Bulldogs held on to their early lead and closed out the match with a 25-21 victory in the final game.

Coach Harvey saw some bright spots at times but overall left the Lied Fitness Center gymnasium a little disappointed.

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OMAHA - Concordia University defeated the College of St. Mary by the score of 3-1 on Wednesday evening in Omaha.

Scores of the match were 25-20, 25-21, 21-25 and 25-21. It’s the third straight win for the Bulldogs, who are now 4-2 on the season. The Flames dropped to 2-1 on the year with the loss.

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The Concordia University volleyball team will look to get back on track following a disappointing season in 2009.

The Bulldogs went 11-22 overall last year with a 3-13 mark in conference play. Concordia was selected 10th in the GPAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll released earlier this month.

Concordia University Meghan Tinkham signed with Concordia University.

SEWARD - Concordia University head volleyball coach Rachel Miller has announced the signing of Meghan Tinkham. Tinkham prepped at Kearney High School where she participated in three sports for the Bearcats.

During all four of her years at Kearney High, Tinkham was an all-academic and all-conference selection in both volleyball and basketball. She helped lead her volleyball teams to four straight conference championships, and the Bearcats were district champions during her sophomore and senior seasons.

Meghan was also a member of the honor roll during all four years at Kearney High.

LINCOLN – Nebraska Wesleyan, ranked No. 21 in the AVCA/DIII Coaches’ Poll, earned a 3-0 win over Concordia on Wednesday evening in Lincoln . Scores of the match were 25-18, 25-18 and 25-19. The host Prairie Wolves improved to 17-8 overall and 7-6 in the GPAC with the win. Concordia dropped to 10-18 overall and 2-11 in the GPAC with the loss.

Nebraska Wesleyan had a .324 attack percentage in the match compared to .168 for the Bulldogs. Kelsey Elman had a match-high 14 kills to pace the Prairie Wolves offensively. Laura Brammeier added 10 kills and eight digs, Ashley Jedlicka had 34 assists and Brittny Barber had 10 digs for NWU.

Dani Hoagland had a team-high 13 kills to lead the way for the Bulldogs in the loss. Chelsea Vaudt had 11 kills; Alex Szalawiga added seven kills and Kaylie Mellema handed out 33 assists on the night. Lauryn Nyhoff’s 10 digs led the way defensively for Concordia.

Concordia hosts Hastings College on Oct. 24. It will be parent’s night at the Health, Human Performance and Athletic Center with the JV contest set to begin at 6 p.m. and the varsity match scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The 2010 Preseason GPAC Volleyball Coaches’ Poll was released Monday.

Northwestern College is the coaches’ pick to win the GPAC in 2010 following a 36-3 record and a trip to the NAIA National Tournament quarterfinals a year ago. The Red Raiders earned 121 points and secured 11 first place votes in the poll. Morningside College is second with 101 points, and Doane College rounds out the top three with 97 points. Dordt College is fourth with 96 points and the final first place vote.

The 2010 GPAC volleyball season will consist of 16 conference matches with 12 teams competing for the conference title.

1. Northwestern College – 121 Points (11 first place votes)

Concordia University Elise Ortmeier of Wisner-Pilger is one of the latest recruits to sign with Concordia University.

_Click to read story on Concordia University Web site

SEWARD - Concordia University head volleyball coach Rachel Miller has announced the signing of five more players to the 2010 Bulldog recruiting class.

Elise Ortmeier will join the Bulldog volleyball program after a solid career at Wisner-Pilger High School. Ortmeier lettered for all four years as a libero for the Gators. During her junior year, she was Honorable Mention All-Conference in the East Husker Conference and was awarded with the Team Defense Award.

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SEWARD - Concordia University head volleyball coach Rachel Miller announced that Dana Zluticky is the first signed volleyball recruit for the 2010 season.

Zluticky, a native of Lee’s Summit, MO, has enjoyed an impressive high school and Junior Olympic playing career.

Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Concordia 3-2 in GPAC volleyball on Wednesday evening in Seward. Scores of the match were 19-25, 25-18, 25-18, 17-25 and 15-9. Nebraska Wesleyan improved to 12-3 overall and 2-1 in the GPAC with the win. The Bulldogs dropped to 7-10 overall and 0-3 in the GPAC with the loss.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead in game one and cruised to the 25-19 win. The visiting Prairie Wolves responded in games two and three to take a 2-1 lead. In game four, Concordia again jumped out to a quick lead and managed to force a fifth and deciding game. Game five remained close early on. However, the Prairie Wolves pulled away down the stretch and held on for the 3-2 win.

Concordia senior Dani Hoagland had a fantastic night in a losing effort for the Bulldogs. She had a match-high 23 kills and added two aces and two blocks on the night. Chelsea Vaudt was the only other player to reach double figures in kills with 10. Sloan Brandon had eight kills and 13 digs, and Lauryn Nyhoff added seven kills and 15 digs for the Bulldogs. Nico Ethofer had a match-high 18 digs, Kirsten Kohlway added 14 digs and Kaylie Mellema handed out 46 assists for Concordia.

Nebraska Wesleyan was led by Laura Brammeier’s 18 kills. Brittny Barber added 11 kills, Elise Schmid had eight kills and Ashley Jedlicka had 36 set assists for NWU.

Concordia travels to Briar Cliff on Friday and Morningside on Saturday. First serve on Friday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and Saturday’s match is set to begin at 3 p.m.