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.

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.

Read story on Concordia University Web site

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.

SEWARD - Shelli Mohnike was recently hired as an assistant coach for the Concordia University volleyball team.

Mohnike was an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s volleyball teams at Missouri Baptist University from 2004-06. She helped the Missouri Baptist women’s team to the NAIA Final Four in 2005, while the men’s team reached the Final Four in 2005 and 2006.

Shelli attended Hastings College where she was a four-year letter winner for the Broncos from 2000-04. She was an AVCA All-American in 2003, earned several GPAC Player-of-the-Week honors and was an All-Conference performer from 2001-03.

Click to view story on Concordia University web page

SEWARD - Concordia University head volleyball coach Rachel Miller has announced the signing of Jennifer Smith.

Smith lettered for three years at Nebraska Christian High School in Central City.

Click to read story in Columbus Telegram

COLUMBUS — As soon as Morgan Stover stepped on the campus at Concordia University, it was like a home away from home.

So when it came time for her to consider playing volleyball at the collegiate level, it is no surprise the Lakeview High School senior chose the Bulldogs.

SEWARD - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced that a total of 304 volleyball players have been named 2009 Daktronics-NAIA Volleyball Scholar-Athletes. Five members of the Concordia University volleyball team earned the honor.

Nominated by each institution's head coach, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have achieved junior academic status to qualify.

Dani Hoagland, the lone senior on the 2009 Concordia roster, was named a Scholar-Athlete for the second year in a row. Joining Hoagland on this year’s list are juniors Lauryn Nyhoff, Valerie Schick, Chelsea Vaudt and Nicki Axelson.

The Concordia University volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss to Dana College Wednesday evening in the first round of the GPAC Tournament. Scores of the match were 25-18, 23-25, 25-21 and 25-21.

Kali Brayfield had a team-high 10 kills to go along with eight ace serves to lead the way for Dana College . Megan Higgins and Katie Dettmer each added eight kills, and Courtney Aspegren had seven kills. Erin Shanahan had a match-high 20 digs, and Amberly Heslinga added 14 digs for the Vikings.

Concordia’s Dani Hoagland pounded a match-high 11 kills in her final game for the Bulldogs. Valerie Schick also reached double figures with 10 kills, and Chelsea Vaudt added nine kills for the Bulldogs. Kaylie Mellema handed out a match-high 37 set assists. Lauryn Nyhoff and Nico Ethofer had 13 digs and 11 digs, respectively, to lead Concordia defensively.

Concordia ended its season at 11-22. Dana College improved to 22-13 on the year and will take on Morningside College in the second round of the GPAC Tournament on Nov. 7.