Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
Female: Gabi Nordaker, Volleyball
Nordaker, an Omaha native, played a starring role in Concordia’s run to the national quarterfinals. Over four national tournament matches, Nordaker totaled 43 kills and 31 blocks. Her 13 blocks in the win over No. 2 Viterbo were the most of any player in a single match at the 2021 national tournament.
Male: Carter Kent, Basketball
Kent, who hails from Crete, Neb., excelled both offensively and defensively last week and was named the GPAC Player of the Week. Kent piled up a combined 52 points in outings against No. 18 Morningside and Northwestern. His 32 points in the win over Northwestern represented a career high.
Previous BAAM Athletes of the Week
Nov. 30 – Noah Schutte (basketball) / Taysha Rushton (basketball)
Nov. 16 – Korrell Koehlmoos (football) / Bree Burtwistle (volleyball)
Nov. 9 – Camden Sesna (cross country) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
Nov. 2 – Carter Kent (basketball) / Camryn Opfer (volleyball)
Oct. 26 – Peyton Mitchell (football) / Lexie Kreizel (volleyball)
Oct. 19 – Lane Napier (football) / Kalie Ward (soccer)
Oct. 12 – Caydren Cox (football) / Kalee Wiltfong (volleyball)
Oct. 5 – DJ McGarvie (football) / Sarah Schwacher (shooting sports)
Sept. 28 – Wyatt Hambly (shooting sports) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
Sept. 21 – Camden Sesna (cross country) / Lina Kirst (soccer) / Grace Reiman (cross country) / Carly Rodaway (volleyball)
Sept. 14 – Caydren Cox (football) / Mikeila Martinez (soccer)
Sept. 7 – Drew D’Ercole (golf) / Ivan Yabut (golf) / Erica Heinzerling (volleyball)
Aug. 31 – Martin Herrera (soccer) / Camryn Opfer (volleyball)
BAAM Athletes of the Month
October – Lane Napier (football) / Camryn Opfer (volleyball)
September – Caydren Cox (football) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
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.
Game/event days on campus: Concordia Athletics continues to welcome fans to its venues for sporting events. Currently, there are no attendance limits. Before visiting road venues involving Bulldog teams, fans should be sure to check the spectator policies on those particular campuses. Other locations may require the use of face coverings. Once again, fans attending varsity sporting events at Concordia are able to purchase advance tickets online via HomeTown Ticketing. Tickets will also be sold on site on the day of events. Should any policies or protocols for fans change, updated information will be available on the athletics fan information page HERE.
Concordia Invitational Tournament tickets on sale: Tickets for the 70th Concordia Invitational Tournament are now on sale via online orders at https://www.cune.edu/athletics/tickets. The event will take place Jan. 28-29 inside Friedrich Arena and will feature competition in the sports of men’s and women’s basketball, cheer and dance. CIT features the Concordias of Nebraska, Ann Arbor, Chicago and Wisconsin. For more details on the upcoming event, click HERE.
Concordia announces launch of men’s and women’s powerlifting programs: Concordia Athletics will soon expand its sport offerings. The Athletic Department announced the launch of men’s and women’s powerlifting on Nov. 9. The two programs will begin competition during the 2022-23 academic year. The target date to name a head coach is January 1, 2022. Like all other intercollegiate sports at Concordia, the powerlifting programs will offer athletic scholarships to student-athletes. For more on this development, click HERE.
Track and Field programs open indoor season this week at home: It’s a competition week for Concordia Track & Field. Head Coach Matt Beisel’s program is preparing to host the Concordia Early Bird Meet this Friday and Saturday inside the Fieldhouse. Unlike the 2021 indoor season, spectators will be allowed to attend home track meets. The Bulldogs are coming off of 2021 NAIA indoor national finishes of third on the women’s side and 12th on the men’s side. To view a schedule of events for the Early Bird Meet, click HERE. This past Saturday, four Concordia runners competed at the Midland Half Marathon. Those results can be found HERE. For a preview of the 2022 indoor season, click HERE.
Soccer seasons in review: Both Concordia soccer programs saw their 2021 seasons conclude early in November in the quarterfinals of the GPAC tournament. Coaches Jason Weides and Thomas Goines led squads that proved they could compete with the very best teams in the league. For an overview of the ’21 soccer campaigns, click the links below.
-2021 Men’s Soccer season-in-review
-2021 Women’s Soccer season-in-review
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its seventh 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 2021-22 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 seventh 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. For more details on this change, click HERE. Check team schedules/results pages for webcast dates. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.
Volleyball
· A remarkable journey fell just short of the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship. Concordia’s national tournament path included wins over Ave Maria University (Fla.), No. 25 Oregon Tech and No. 2 Viterbo University (Wis.). In the national quarterfinals, the Bulldogs owned an 11-10 lead in the fifth set before eventually falling at the hands of No. 7 Marian University (Ind.). Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad finished the season with an overall record of 19-12. Concordia was one of three GPAC teams to reach the national quarterfinals. For more information on Concordia Volleyball, click HERE.
· The resilience shown by the Bulldogs in 2021 made the season all the more rewarding. Mired in a five-set funk, Concordia sat at 9-9 overall and 4-6 in conference play on Oct. 9. From that point on, the Bulldogs went 10-3 and captured wins over No. 15 Dakota Wesleyan, No. 14 Northwestern, No. 5 Midland, No. 5 College of Saint Mary, No. 25 Oregon Tech and No. 2 Viterbo. Two of the three defeats came against No. 1 Jamestown and the other was in the national quarterfinals versus Marian. According to Massey Ratings, the Bulldogs finished the season having played the most challenging schedule of any team in the NAIA.
· National tournament success is becoming an annual thing for Concordia, which has reached at least the round of 16 in each of the past three NAIA National Championship tournaments. All eight of the program’s wins at the national tournaments have come during that same stretch while under the direction of the Boldts. Prior to the 2019 season, the Bulldogs had made only one prior national tournament appearance (2015) and were beaten in the opening round. Concordia is one of four NAIA volleyball programs to have reached bracket at the national tournament in each of the past three seasons. The others are Jamestown, Missouri Baptist and Northwestern.
· For the second season in a row, Camryn Opfer was named to the NAIA National Championship All-Tournament Team. Over the four 2021 national tournament matches, Opfer totaled 59 kills, 68 digs and seven blocks while hitting .236 from the outside. Opfer put together an especially memorable performance in the win over No. 2 Viterbo. In that match, the Seward High School product went off for 21 kills, 16 digs and four blocks and hit an eye popping .514. Opfer finished the season with team highs of 394 kills and 389 digs. She was also a First Team All-GPAC and AVCA NAIA All-Region honoree.
· The collegiate careers have ended for fifth-year member of the program Tara Callahan and several seniors. A five-time All-GPAC award winner, Callahan was a central figure in the program’s rise to national prominence. Her final career assist tally is 4,816, a number that ranks second in program history behind only Stacy Stuckenschmidt (4,949), who played in an era with different scoring rules. On senior day, the program honored Arleigh Costello, Kayla Ernstmeyer, Erica Heinzerling, Morgan Nibbe and Jadeyn Stutzman. Heinzerling’s story is one of perseverance. She earned a key role this season and finished with 274 kills. Meanwhile, Costello, was an important contributor from the right side all for years.
· The season enjoyed by middle blocker Gabi Nordaker was also one worth celebrating. She was named both First Team All-GPAC and AVCA NAIA Honorable Mention All-Region. Nordaker racked up 347 kills and a team leading 130 blocks while hitting .354. Over the four national tournament matches, Nordaker put up 43 kills and 31 blocks. Nordaker came through with 13 blocks in the win over No. 2 Viterbo. Among the highlights for her this season, Nordaker produced 17 kills and 12 blocks in the five-set win at No. 5 College of Saint Mary in the GPAC tournament semifinals.
· The success brought about by the Boldts and a program of believers has been impressive. Concordia is on track to finish as an NAIA top 15 team for the third season in a row. Over that period, the Bulldogs have finished with respective final records of 25-8, 18-5 and 19-12. A standing goal for the program is to break through and win a conference championship, something made extremely challenging by the nature of the league, which sent seven teams to the final site of the 2021 national tournament. A dominant Jamestown team swept GPAC regular season and postseason titles and was ranked No. 1 in the NAIA most of the season (lost in the national semifinals).
· Looking ahead to next season, Concordia will have a new primary setter but can take comfort in the presence of Bree Burtwistle, who saw time along with Callahan. The Bulldogs will also be able to lean upon stars in Nordaker and Opfer and will have a more experienced back row that got contributions from the likes of Rebecca Gebhardt, Cassidy Knust, Lexie Kreizel and Kennedy VanScoy. In addition, right side Carly Rodaway (196 kills, .251 hitting percentage) put together a fine first season as a Bulldog. Considering the success of the past three seasons, it seems likely that Concordia will begin 2022 as an NAIA top 25 team.
Wrestling
· It was an active four-day stretch for the Bulldogs, who competed in two duals in Sioux City, Iowa, on Dec. 1 and then took 18 wrestlers to the Doane Open on Dec. 4. In dual action, Concordia defeated Dakota Wesleyan, 32-13, and then dropped a 26-8 decision to Morningside. Head Coach Myron Bradbury’s squad stands at 1-2 overall with each of the three duals coming against GPAC foes. The Bulldogs have now wrestled at five tournaments. In terms of quantity of competitors, the Doane Open was one of the more significant events of the season to date. For more information on Concordia Wrestling, click HERE.
· The Arena Sports Academy hosted each of the nine GPAC wrestling teams on Dec. 1. That same venue will also be site for three more Bulldog conference duals on Jan. 29. The alignment allows for multiple duals and less travel for conference schools. In other duals on Dec. 1, Doane defeated Briar Cliff, 28-10, and Northwestern, 35-13, Jamestown topped Midland, 45-10, and then fell to Hastings, 22-20, Briar Cliff dominated Midland, 49-6, and Hastings routed Dakota Wesleyan, 42-4. In last week’s official GPAC ratings, Concordia was placed fifth behind Doane, Briar Cliff, Morningside and Hastings.
· Due to forfeits, there were only six contested matches in the Concordia-DWU dual. The Bulldogs were awarded six points at 125, 184, 197 and 285. Contested victories were earned by Mario Ybarra (3-1 SV) at 133 and by Jeaven Scdoris (21-6 TF) at 149. Now ranked 10th in the NAIA at 133, Ybarra was upset by Morningside’s Taylor Vasquez, 3-1, in the proceeding dual. In winning performances versus Mustang opponents, TJ Huber claimed a decision in sudden victory at 174 and Jacob Telles pinned his heavyweight counterpart in 4:48. The dual was actually much closer than the team score indicated – the Bulldogs lost separate matches by scores of 3-1, 1-0, 2-1, 14-12 and 5-4.
· The Doane Open featured wrestlers from 34 different institutions. When the dust settled, Concordia competitors combined for 30 wins, including eight by pin, and three place finishes. Place finishes were earned by Isaac Agabin (fifth at 133), Jacob Telles (sixth at 285) and Jovon Howe (sixth at 184). Fourteen of the 18 Bulldog wrestlers in action walked away with at least one victory. Three other Bulldogs collected two or more wins apiece: Carter Willis (4-2 at 133), Tavoris Smith (3-2 at 157), Adam Roberts (2-2 at 125) and Jose Sanchez (2-2 at 165). One win each was earned by Issiah Burks (165), Josh Broyles (141), Jeaven Scdoris (149), Brandon Gonzalez (149), Tracy Allen (149), TJ Huber (174) and Jesse Guadarrama (285).
· From a pure results standpoint, Mason Garcia has put together an impressive start. He owns a 12-2 overall record after going 1-1 last week in dual action. The native of Arroyo Grande, Calif., placed first at the York Open and sixth at the Dakota Wesleyan Open while wrestling at 197. He’s already collected seven pins. Telles sits right behind Garcia for the team pins lead with six. Telles added a trio of pins at the Doane Open. Meanwhile, Thomas Ivey (125) is now 11-3 after also going 1-1 last week.
· Just one event will make up this week’s schedule. The Bulldogs are getting set to host Midland (2-7, 0-3 GPAC) at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday. The Warriors have gotten out to a rough start in conference duals, falling by scores of 33-15 to Hastings, 49-6 to Briar Cliff and 45-10 to Jamestown. In last season’s matchup in Fremont, Concordia cruised to a 38-7 win over Midland. The Warriors have a first-year head coach in Daviaire Dickerson.
Women’s Basketball
· The Bulldogs acquitted themselves nicely in a challenging week of GPAC action that had them up against No. 10 Morningside and No. 12 Northwestern. Concordia fell by an 89-83 score at Morningside on Dec. 1 before rebounding with an 84-82 overtime home victory over previously unbeaten Northwestern. Those results leave Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad at 6-4 overall and at 3-3 in conference play. The Bulldogs have won three of their last four outings. For more information on Concordia Women’s Basketball, click HERE.
· Based on last week’s NAIA top 25 poll, the Bulldogs have already played seven nationally ranked opponents: No. 6 Wayland Baptist University (Texas), No. 8 Sterling College (Kan.), No. 10 Morningside, No. 12 Northwestern, No. 18 Dakota State University (S.D.), No. 20 Briar Cliff and No. 22 Dordt. Though Concordia has four losses, the profile is a strong one that includes wins over Wayland Baptist, Northwestern and Dakota State. The Bulldogs have held serve against the three currently unranked foes they have played: Bellevue University, Midland and Jamestown.
· In both of last week’s outings, Concordia fought back from double-digit deficits in the first half. The contest at Morningside resulted in a breakout performance for freshman Lauren Baker, who poured in 24 points while making 6-of-9 shots from 3-point range. The Bulldogs went wire-to-wire with the Mustangs despite Taysha Rushton not scoring until the fourth quarter. Rylee Pauli (16 points and nine rebounds) and Mackenzie Toomey (15 points and five rebounds) helped pick up the slack. Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the floor in what turned into a shootout. Concordia simply struggled to contain the likes of Sierra Mitchell and Sophia Peppers, who combined for 46 points.
· The Bulldogs handed the Red Raiders (10-1, 4-1 GPAC) their first loss of the season despite trailing by nine points entering the fourth quarter. Rushton led the comeback charge in totaling each of her 15 points after halftime. Rushton nailed a clutch trey that tied the score, 74-74, and forced overtime. In the extra session, Sadie Powell collected all nine of her points and swiped two steals. Powell made two critical treys in overtime. It was also another fine outing for Pauli, who notched 17 points, five rebounds and two steals and for Bailey Conrad, who posted 13 points and eight assists. Off the bench, Toomey added eight points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
· At 16.9 points per game, Rushton is the lone Bulldog averaging in double figures. Concordia has plenty of other players capable of stepping up and score 10-plus in any given outing. Eight others are averaging at least six points per game: Abby Heemstra (9.2), Pauli (9.1), Baker (6.6), Taylor Farrell (6.6), Powell (6.6), Conrad (6.4) and Toomey (6.0). Concordia has missed some scoring punch (and length on defense) in the absence of Mackenzie Koepke, who averaged 7.3 points and 5.6 rebounds last season. The Bulldogs have also been without Abby Aplaca, who played in two games before being sidelined by injury.
· Through 10 games, Concordia is averaging 76.1 points while allowing 73.1. Offensively, the Bulldogs sport shooting percentages of 40.5 from the field, 32.4 from 3-point range and 67.5 from the foul line. The opponents have posted respective percentages of 41.5, 30.2 and 74.6. Four Concordia players have drained at least 10 3-point field goals this season: Rushton (22-for-78), Farrell (13-for-32), Baker (11-for-19) and Kendal Brigham (10-for-27). Baker made her only 3-point attempt versus Northwestern, putting her at 7-for-10 from beyond the arc for the week. Farrell is a career 41.4 percent (89-for-215) shooter from long range.
· For a change, the Bulldogs will play two unranked opponents this week. They will host Mount Marty (1-8, 1-4 GPAC) at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday before playing at Hastings (6-5, 2-3 GPAC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Concordia owns a 10-game series win streak versus Mount Marty and a four-game streak against Hastings. The Lancers earned their only win of the season over Midland while the Broncos enter this week having lost four in a row since a 6-1 start.
Men’s Basketball
· While up against two teams picked in the top four of the GPAC preseason poll, the Bulldogs went 1-1 last week. Concordia competed down to the wire at No. 18 Morningside in what ended as a 79-77 loss on Dec. 1. Three days later, the Bulldogs returned home for a 95-78 win over Northwestern, a contest that featured a dominant second half for the home team. Both losses this season have come in Sioux City, Iowa. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad has moved to 9-2 overall (4-2 GPAC). For more information on Concordia Men’s Basketball, click HERE.
· The Bulldogs were snubbed from a spot in the NAIA top 25 poll released last week. Concordia appeared third among teams receiving votes. Limback’s team has been ranked much higher by other sources – 14th in Massey Ratings and 19th by the NAIA Hoops Report. The Bulldogs continue to seek the program’s first official top 25 ranking since the 2010-11 season. Concordia did finish both the 2016-17 and 2019-20 seasons with votes in the coaches’ poll. The ’16-17 team went 21-10 overall while the ’19-20 edition went 24-10 overall while winning the GPAC tournament title and advancing to the national tournament.
· It was a game of catch up at Morningside where the Bulldogs dug a hole as large as 13 points and still trailed by double digits with fewer than 13 minutes remaining. A 14-3 run got Concordia back in it and it eventually rallied to take a 72-67 lead at the three-minute mark. With the game tied in the final seconds, the Mustangs’ Trey Brown muscled in two points in the paint and Gage Smith’s ensuing 3-point try at the buzzer rimmed out. Carter Kent wound up with 20 points on 7-for-14 shooting while Noah Schutte (17) and Sam Scarpelli (10) also reached double figures. Smith added eight points and seven rebounds.
· Concordia is now 22-1 in its last 23 home games after pulling away from Northwestern in the second half of last week’s win. The key was for the Bulldogs to tighten up its play on the defensive end. The Red Raiders shot 58.8 percent from the field in the first half before slipping to 29.0 percent in the second half. It was a monster game for Kent, who poured in 32 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the floor. Other double-figure scorers were Schutte (18), Justin Wiersema (14) and Smith (11). Smith also notched seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Concordia has won six-straight meetings over Northwestern.
· Offensive productivity has rarely been an issue for the Bulldogs (save for the rough outing at Briar Cliff). Since that loss, Concordia has turned in respective field goal percentages of 54.0 versus Midland, 50.7 at Dordt, 50.8 versus Jamestown, 51.8 at Morningside and 55.7 versus Northwestern. Nationally, the Bulldogs rank 23rd in field goal percentage (.496) and 21st in free throw percentage (.760). They are averaging 82.5 points per game and allowing 71.5. Opponents are shooting 44.6 percent from the floor.
· Kent has moved into the program’s top 10 all-time in made 3-point field goals with 203. He’s 23-for-65 (.354) from long range on the season after shooting 34.6 percent from beyond the arc last season. Next for Kent to catch on the list for 3-point field goals is graduate assistant coach Brevin Sloup, who nailed 220 treys. Kent is also up to 17th on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,331 points. With 169 more points, the Crete High School product would become the ninth player in program history to reach 1,500 points.
This week presents two more GPAC outings. Concordia will host Mount Marty (3-11, 0-6 GPAC) at 7:45 p.m. CT on Wednesday before traveling to play at Hastings (6-5, 1-3 GPAC) at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday. The Bulldogs have won each of the past three meetings with the Lancers and have defeated the Broncos in 11-straight series matchups. The contest against Mount Marty will be the final home game prior to New Year’s Day.