Bulldog Weekly Report (Dec. 6)

By Jacob Knabel on Dec. 6, 2022 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week

Female: Gabi Nordaker, Volleyball

Nordaker, who hails from Omaha, led the way for the fourth-ranked Bulldogs in last week’s national tournament matches as she totaled 24 kills and 12 blocks while up against Hastings and No. 13 Park. Nordaker notched 16 kills and hit .441 in the four-set win over Hastings.

Male: Gage Smith, Basketball

Smith, a native of Elizabeth, Colo., produced the men’s basketball program’s first triple-double since the 1997-98 season as he totaled 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the game at Morningside. Smith also posted 10 points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks in the 81-55 win over Northwestern.

Previous BAAM Athletes of the Week
Nov. 29 – Rylee Ladd (powerlifting) / Noah Schutte (basketball)
Nov. 15 – Rebecca Gebhardt (volleyball) / Federico Simonetti (Soccer)
Nov. 8 – Kylahn Freiberg (cross country) / Kaden Peters (football)
Nov. 1 – Breyer Meeks (shooting sports) / Carlos Orquiz (soccer) / Morgan Nibbe (volleyball)
Oct. 25 – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball) / Isaiah Shaddick (soccer)
Oct. 18 – Korrell Koehlmoos (football) / Carly Rodaway (volleyball)
Oct. 11 – Rylee Haecker (cross country) / DJ McGarvie (football)
Oct. 4 – Rebecca Gebhardt (volleyball) / Korrell Koehlmoos (football)
Sept. 27 – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball) / Ryan Wokutch (soccer)
Sept. 20 – Tanner Muff (shooting sports) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball) / Katie Welker (shooting sports)
Sept. 13 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer) / Jack Nelson (shooting sports)
Sept. 6 – Camryn Opfer (volleyball) / Camden Sesna (cross country)
Aug. 30 – Federico Simonetti (soccer) / Carly Rodaway (volleyball)
Aug. 23 – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball)

2022-23 BAAM Athletes of the Month
October – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball); Korrell Koehlmoos (football); Carly Rodaway (volleyball)
September – Gabi Nordaker (volleyball); Camryn Opfer (volleyball); Camden Sesna (cross country)

News and notes:

BAAM luncheons are held every Tuesday at 12 p.m. CT inside the Dog House Grill, located in the Janzow Campus Center. The luncheons feature reports from head coaches who are in season at the time. For information on how to join BAAM, click HERE. It is not a requirement to be a BAAM member in order to attend the weekly luncheons.

Track & Field officially opens indoor season this weekend: The official start to the indoor track & field season will be this Friday and Saturday as the Bulldogs will host the Concordia Early Bird Meet inside the Walz Fieldhouse. It will be the only meet of the first semester as Head Coach Matt Beisel embarks on his seventh season leading the track & field programs. The Early Bird will begin with multi events on Friday before the bulk of the meet takes place on Saturday. Day two will open with field events at 12 p.m. CT while running events are slated to get started at 2 p.m. For additional details on Concordia Track & Field, click HERE.

Powerlifting closes fall semester competition with four medals at Midwest Regional: Both the Concordia Powerlifting and Weightlifting teams have wrapped up competition for the fall semester. The final fall outing for powerlifting occurred on Nov. 19 when the Bulldogs took part in the Midwest Regionals hosted by William Jewell University (Mo.) in Liberty, Mo. Medals were handed out to the top three finishers in each weight class at the Midwest Regionals. The four Bulldogs to reach the podium were Rylee Ladd (first at 52 kg), Pryce Ostermeier (second at 90 kg), Rylee Kara (third at 67.5 kg) and Hunter Powers (third at 75 kg). In addition, Kara and Dax Davis added their names to the team’s list of national qualifiers (and Ladd qualified in a second class). A native of Chetek, Wis., Ladd was able to outmuscle Midland’s Sindy Aguilera at 52 kg, 320 to 305. A detailed recap of the meet can be found HERE. For more details on the program, click HERE.

Wrapping up fall sports seasons: Each Concordia fall sport is now officially in the books. We began wrapping up those seasons with season-in-review articles for football and women’s soccer (see the links below). Similar articles will be released in the coming days for men’s soccer and volleyball. It’s worth noting that the women’s soccer program will have a new head coach for the 2023 season. Thomas Goines announced his resignation last week after three seasons leading Concordia Women’s Soccer.
--Football
--Women’s Soccer
--Men’s Soccer (coming soon)
--Volleyball (coming soon)

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its eighth year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT on KTMX-FM 104.9 Max Country. The weekly feature can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the Max Country app. Throughout the 2022-23 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Parker Cyza serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball. Frank Greene is in his eighth season calling Concordia volleyball.

Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting https://www.cune.edu/athletics/watch-bulldogs at game time. Beginning in 2019-20, Concordia Athletics partnered with PrestoSports for live video and statistical streaming. Live webcast links for away contests are publicized in sport specific releases that preview action for that particular week. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.

 

Volleyball

·        The season ended last week for the fourth-ranked Bulldogs, who came up one win shy of reaching the NAIA national quarterfinals for a third season in a row. During action at the final site of the 2022 NAIA National Championship, Concordia defeated GPAC rival Hastings in four sets on Nov. 30 and then fell at the hands of No. 13 Park University (Mo.) in four sets on Dec. 2. As a result, Park won Pool D and moved on to the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad concluded the ’22 campaign at 25-6 overall. This marked the fourth year in a row that the Bulldogs appeared at the final site of the national tournament, which unfolds at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. For more information on Concordia Volleyball, click HERE.

·        The loss to Park still stings, but the Bulldogs can look back and take pride in a 2022 season that further established the program as one of the nation’s elites. Among the accomplishments this fall, Concordia achieved the program’s highest ever national ranking of No. 4, won 13 times over teams that qualified for the national tournament and appeared in the GPAC tournament championship match. Along the way, the Bulldogs embraced their core values of love, trust, hard work and sacrifice. As Ben Boldt said after the national tournament loss, “One of our first team mottos was ‘champions behave like champions before they become champions.’ This team – they’re champions. That was our message after the match. They’ve become who we want this program to be.”

·        In the win over Hastings, Concordia outhit the opposition, .241 to .214. It was a big day for Gabi Nordaker in the middle as she recorded 16 kills and four blocks and hit .441. Meanwhile, Camryn Opfer added 13 kills and 24 digs, Carly Rodaway produced 11 kills, Rebecca Gebhardt notched 27 digs, Bree Burtwistle accumulated 58 assists and Lexie Kreizel dropped in four aces. The Bulldogs defeated the Broncos for the third time this season. Two days later, the Bulldogs struggled to find a rhythm in the first two sets and never recovered. The Pirates limited Concordia to an .070 hitting percentage and only 42 kills over the four sets. Opfer led the way with 14 kills and 23 digs. Three Park players recorded double-digit kills and helped push the Pirates to the NAIA national quarterfinals.

·        Barring a decision to use the ‘COVID’ year of eligibility and return in 2023, this was the end of the line for the seniors. The group of four-year players on the roster includes Bree Burtwistle, Bree Green, Camryn Opfer, Kennedy VanScoy and Kalee Wiltfong. In addition, Morgan Nibbe finished her eligibility as a fifth-year member of the program. For those who played at Concordia over the past four years, they helped the Bulldogs to a combined record of 102-43 and to four national tournament appearances. In the postseason/final polls of each of those seasons, Concordia has landed national rankings of 14th in 2019, eighth in 2020, sixth in 2021 and fourth in 2022.

·        Opfer will go down as one of the top individual players in program history. In 118 career matches, Opfer has racked up 1,268 kills, 1,340 digs, 175 blocks and 63 aces. On the program’s all-time lists, Opfer ranks No. 5 for career kills and career digs. Opfer’s career national tournament totals of 195 kills and 231 digs both stand out as school records on that stage. In addition, the Seward High School product has twice been recognized as an NAIA National Championship All-Tournament Team selection and garnered all-conference awards in each of the past four years.

·        This past Friday, Opfer pulled in another honor as she was named to the NAIA West Central All-Region Team by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Teammates in Nordaker and Burtwistle (honorable mention) were also chosen to the all-region team. In addition, Angie Boldt was recognized as the West Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year. In 31 matches in 2022, Nordaker led the team in both kills (328) and blocks (114) while hitting .353. That hitting percentage ranks No. 8 nationally. The Stanton, Neb., native Burtwistle ranked No. 4 among all NAIA setters with an average of 11.21 assists per set.

·        If seniors are excluded, Concordia will return four all-conference selections in 2023: Nordaker (first team), Rodaway (second team), Gebhardt (honorable mention) and Ashley Keck (honorable mention). Keck was also honored as the 2022 GPAC Freshman of the Year. The return of Keck-Nordaker-Rodaway would make the Bulldogs a strong attacking team across the net once again, while Gebhardt is an experienced libero who made a leap forward from her freshman to sophomore campaigns. If Burtwistle moves on, the Bulldogs will be debuting a new starting setter next fall. Either way, the expectation the program has set is to reach the final site of the national tournament.


Men’s Basketball

·        In last week’s action, the 19th-ranked Bulldogs wrapped up the month of November while tipping off December with a victory. Concordia struggled down the stretch and fell at Morningside, 69-62, on Nov. 30 before bouncing back with an 81-55 home win over Northwestern on Dec. 3. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad stands at 7-2 overall (4-2 GPAC) roughly one-third of the way through the regular season slate. The Bulldogs are one of seven GPAC teams with exactly two losses in conference play. For more information on Concordia Men’s Basketball, click HERE.

·        The Bulldogs have appeared in each of the first two NAIA coaches’ polls of the 2022-23 regular season. Concordia landed at No. 23 in the poll released on Nov. 16 and then jumped up to 19th in the poll unveiled on Nov. 30. That No. 19 ranking is actually higher than the 2021-22 national quarterfinalist Bulldog squad appeared at any point last season (there was no postseason poll released). It’s also the highest the program has been ranked in a national poll since the 2008-09 squad was placed at No. 17 during that campaign. The next poll is slated to be released on Dec. 14. Under Limback, Concordia has finished three seasons as a team either ranked or receiving votes nationally (2016-17, 2019-20 and 2021-22).

·        The Bulldogs defeated Morningside twice at home last season but winning in Sioux City has never been an easy task. Concordia lost on last week’s road trip despite shooting 51.9 percent from the floor. The Bulldogs were unable to overcome a minus-seven turnover margin and offensive struggles down the stretch of the game. On the plus side, Gage Smith produced a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Brother Tristan Smith added 18 points and three rebounds. Noah Schutte chipped in with 10 points while playing in pain. The Mustangs (8-2, 4-1 GPAC) got 17 points from Ely Doble and shot much better from 3-point range (8-for-25 compared to 4-for-18).

·        Stifling defensive play and strong rebounding made for a runaway against Northwestern three days later. The Red Raiders were limited to 31.1 percent shooting and were outrebounded, 43-34. Four Concordia players scored in double figures: AJ Watson (17), Tristan Smith (16), Joel Baker (12) and Gage Smith (10). Tristan’s stat line included eight rebounds, three blocked shots and three assists. Watson also swiped three steals in what was his first outing since Nov. 16. The victors went 14-for-34 (.412) from 3-point range. The Bulldogs have won seven of the past eight series meetings with Northwestern.

·        The 6-foot-5 Tristan Smith has been better than advertised in his first season as a starter. Through nine games in 2022-23, he’s averaging 14.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 50.5 percent from the floor. While coming off the bench for last season’s GPAC championship team, Tristan averaged 4.2 points and 2.9 rebounds and became most well-known for his dramatic alley-oop layup that lifted Concordia over Briar Cliff in a pivotal late season game at home. He’s more than just a good athlete. Tristan has scored in double figures in eight of the season’s first nine games and has notched at least 16 points in each of the past four outings.

·        Indeed, defense and rebounding have been the facets of the game that these Bulldogs have hung their hats on to this point. Among all NAIA teams, the Bulldogs rank first in defensive rebounds per game (33.0), seventh in opponents field goal percentage (.378), 10th in opponents 3-point field goal percentage (.257) and 12th in total rebounds per game (41.9). Not surprisingly, Concordia’s top rebounders are its frontcourt starters: Gage Smith (10.7), Noah Schutte (6.0) and Tristan Smith (5.9). Gage is leading the GPAC in rebounds per game. Somewhat of an unsung hero, Garrett Seagren has drawn praise from Limback for his defensive prowess in the backcourt.

·        The Bulldogs will be back at home (where they’ve won 24 of their last 25) on Wednesday to host Mount Marty (5-7, 2-4 GPAC) with tipoff slated for 7:45 p.m. CT. Concordia will then play at Hastings (8-2, 2-2 GPAC) at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday. The Bulldogs have had the Broncos number, winning each of the past 13 series meetings.


Women’s Basketball

·        Concordia entered last week knowing both outings would present challenges. The Bulldogs picked up their first road win of the 2022-23 season when they knocked off No. 25 Morningside, 71-64, in Sioux City, Iowa, on Nov. 30. Three days later, Concordia mounted a lead as large as nine points before floundering down the stretch in a 72-56 home loss to No. 16 Northwestern. Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad has moved to 4-4 overall (2-4 GPAC). For more information on Concordia Women’s Basketball, click HERE.

·        The GPAC is loaded with quality teams that will push for national tournament berths. That’s part of the reason the Bulldogs have already dropped four league games. The league slate has been challenging as Concordia has fallen on the road at Briar Cliff and No. 13 Dordt and at home to Jamestown and No. 16 Northwestern. Those four teams own a combined overall record of 33-5. According to the most recent official GPAC ratings, the top six teams in the league are currently: Dordt, Dakota Wesleyan, Northwestern, Briar Cliff and Jamestown.

·        The win at Morningside was a significant one in terms of the Bulldogs’ season profile and for their confidence. In the scoring department, Sadie Powell and Kendal Brigham led the way with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Concordia shot 44.2 percent from the floor and drained 12-of-26 attempts from long range. It also shored up its rebounding from the previous outing and held a slight advantage in that category, 36-34. Star guard Taysha Rushton notched 15 points, five assists and four rebounds. Off the bench, Megan Belt rained in three triples. Ranked No. 3 in the NAIA in the preseason, the Mustangs (4-4, 2-3 GPAC) suffered their fourth loss of the season.

·        The Bulldogs put together a strong 25-plus minutes as they attempted to hand Northwestern (10-0, 5-0 GPAC) its first loss of the season. Concordia led by as many as nine points and still held an advantage with as little as a minute-and-a-half remaining in the third quarter. The Bulldogs then struggled mightily offensively and surrendered a 20-0 run that gave the Red Raiders full control. Maddie Jones paced Northwestern with 22 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the floor. Rushton led Concordia with 17 points and Belt again contributed nine points off the bench. The Bulldogs shot only 26.5 percent from the floor in the second half.

·        Concordia team leaders by category include Taysha Rushton in scoring average (15.1) and assists (3.5), Sadie Powell in rebounding (5.1), Mackenzie Toomey in steals (1.9) and Megan Belt in 3-point field goals (15). The rest of the team’s top five in scoring average includes Kendal Brigham (10.6), Powell (9.5), Toomey (7.9) and Abby Krieser (7.6). The Bulldogs are averaging 68.3 points per game while shooting 39.1 percent from the floor, 31.2 percent from 3-point range and 73.2 percent from the foul line. Opponents are averaging 67.1 points while shooting 43.8 percent from the floor, 33.6 percent from 3-point range and 70.1 percent from the foul line.

·        The starting lineup though eight games has featured the same five players: Rushton, Krieser and Toomey in the backcourt and Powell and Abby Heemstra in the frontcourt. The rotation has typically gone nine deep with the main bench contributors being Belt, Brigham, Hailey Kleinschmit and Kristin Vieselemeyer. In addition, Mackenzie Koepke continues to come along while returning from the injury that sidelined her for the entire 2021-22 season. Twelve players have seen action in at least one varsity game.

·        The next three GPAC games will be crucial for Concordia as it plays two of them at home. As for this week, the Bulldogs will host Mount Marty (3-8, 1-5 GPAC) at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday prior to traveling to play at Hastings (5-4, 3-2 GPAC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Concordia owns a 12-game series win streak over the Lancers. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs and Broncos split last season’s two meetings (road team won both games).


Wrestling

·        After roughly a week-and-a-half between outings, Concordia got back to action with a busy weekend that included a Friday night home dual and a Saturday tournament close to home. The Bulldogs won seven of 10 matches and emerged with a 36-9 win over Bethany College (Kan.) on Dec. 2 in their first home appearance of the 2022-23 season. Concordia then entered 19 wrestlers into the Doane Conner/Oppenheim Open on Dec. 3 and came away with five place finishes. Head Coach Chase Clasen’s squad has pushed its dual record to 4-1 (3-1 GPAC). For more information on Concordia Wrestling, click HERE.

·        The matchup with Bethany went quickly as the Swedes had three open weights in their lineup. Contested victories for the Bulldogs were delivered by Thomas Ivey (major decision at 133), Issiah Burks (technical fall at 165), Jose Sanchez (decision at 174) and Stephen Duffy (pin at 184). The three Concordia wrestlers who accepted forfeit wins were Grant Wells (133), Creighton Baughman (141) and Tommy Wentz (157). The lineup also included Jeaven Scdoris (149), Clayton Laabs (197) and Jack Hedke (285). Bethany also visited Seward in February 2020 and left with a 50-0 loss.

·        The large-scale tournament at Doane featured both “open” and amateur divisions. In highlighting the efforts of the Bulldogs, Creighton Baughman (third at 141) and Issiah Burks (sixth at 165) earned place finishes in the open division. Meanwhile, three Concordia wrestlers took home place finishes in the amateur brackets: Tommy Wentz (fourth at 157), Torrance Keehn (fifth at 174) and Garret Moser (fifth at 184). Baughman’s five wins were tied with Tommy Wentz for the most on the team at the tournament. Baughman had wrestled competitively with the University of Nebraska’s Blake Cushing before being caught and pinned late in the third period. Baughman (ranked No. 20 in the NAIA at 141) responded with four-straight contested wins, including one via fall over Hastings’ Dalton Michael. Along the way, Baughman also nipped NCAA Division II Daniel DeRosier, 2-1, of the University of Nebraska-Kearney. At 165, Burks picked up two wins to move to the semifinals before he was defeated, 6-2, by the NAIA’s top-ranked wrestler in that weight class, Marty Margolis of Grand View.

·        A transfer from York College, Wentz also went on a nice run after beginning the tournament with a loss. Included in Wentz’s five wins was a pin of NCAA Division II Wayne State College’s Chase Eggleston and a tight win over teammate Kobe Lyons in the 157-pound amateur bracket. In solid showings of their own, Torrance Keehn (174) and Garret Moser (184) collected four wins apiece. Keehn notched two wins by fall and then won a 9-6 decision over Blake Daher of Benedictine College (Kan.) in the fifth-place match. The run for Moser featured a pair of victories over opponents from JUCO Indian Hills Community College. Six others turned in multiple wins at the Doane Open: Bryce Karlin (3-2 at 125), Kobe Lyons (3-2 at 157), Grant Wells (2-2 at 125), Charles Hutson (2-2 at 157), Jose Sanchez (2-2 at 174) and Cy Renney (2-2 at 285). Karlin and Renney picked up two pins apiece.

·        The season to date has included five duals and four tournaments. The dual wins have come against Midland, Hastings, Dakota Wesleyan and Bethany. The one loss came at the hands of No. 12 Morningside. To this point, 23 Bulldogs have wrestled in at least one match. The following Concordia competitors own at least five wins on the season: Tommy Wentz (10-5), Creighton Baughman (9-4), Garret Moser (8-4), Grant Wells (8-5), Issiah Burks (6-5), Torrance Keehn (6-6), Bryce Karlin (5-4) and Thomas Ivey (5-7). The team pins leaders are Karlin and Wentz with four apiece.

Concordia has this week off from competition and will look forward to hosting the Concordia Bulldog Duals on Saturday, Dec. 17. The schedule for that event is in the process of being finalized. This will mark the third year in a row that the program has hosted the Bulldog Duals, which has typically featured NAIA opposition from around the region.