SEWARD, Neb. – Here they are again. For the third year in a row, the Bulldogs have made their way to the GPAC tournament championship match. The postseason route thus far has been a smooth one as the fourth-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team defeated Dakota Wesleyan (quarterfinals) and No. 9 Jamestown (semifinals) in straight sets. Instead of traveling all the way to Jamestown for the conference final as they did in 2021 and 2022, the Bulldogs will be headed to Orange City, Iowa, for the 2023 title match. First serve with top-ranked Northwestern is set for 7:30 p.m. CT.
GPAC Championship
Saturday, Nov. 11 at No. 1 Northwestern (25-2, 14-2 GPAC), 7:30 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Bultman Center (Orange City, Iowa)
--Admission: $10 for adults/senior citizens, $3 for K-12; only those with NAIA passes and GPAC student ID’s are admitted free of charge.
By the numbers
· Coaches Ben and Angie Boldt have produced a GPAC tournament record of 8-5 since taking over the program in 2018. After getting knocked out in the quarterfinals in 2018, Concordia reached the semifinals in 2019 and 2020 before placing as the GPAC postseason runner up in 2021 and 2022. As a program, the Bulldogs will be making their fourth appearance in the GPAC tournament final. Concordia is hoping the fourth time is a charm after it was defeated by Midland in 2015 and Jamestown in both 2021 and 2022. The Bulldogs reached the GPAC tournament final for the first time in program history in 2015. Concordia was also a conference tournament runner up back in 1996 (in the NIAC). Previous GPAC championship appearances:
o 2022 – No. 2 Jamestown def. No. 5 Concordia, 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-17.
o 2021 – No. 1 Jamestown def. No. 19 Concordia, 25-21, 25-18, 25-17.
o 2015 – No. 8 Midland def. No. 17 Concordia, 25-20, 25-17, 25-16.
· The Bulldogs put together one of their sharpest performances of the season while defeating No. 9 Jamestown in straight sets, 25-16, 25-18, 25-22, in the GPAC semifinals. The Jimmies had been allowing opponents to hit only .122 before Concordia smoldered to the tune of a .330 hitting percentage on Wednesday night. Setter Bree Burtwistle worked the attack like a symphony as Nordaker hit .467 (eight kills), Maddie Paulsen hit .455 (five kills), Ashley Keck hit .364 (14 kills) and Carly Rodaway hit .333 (nine kills). Additionally, Camryn Opfer added seven kills, 12 digs and four blocks. Paulsen also had a hand in four stuffs while Burtwistle piled up 39 assists and Becca Gebhardt topped the team with 13 digs. Concordia held advantages of 44-38 in kills, 6-3 in blocks and 45-41 in digs. Keck put away match point with a thunderous kill. On the other side of the net, Jamestown (23-9) hit .153.
· With Northwestern winning on the other side of the GPAC tournament bracket, the Bulldogs officially locked themselves into an automatic bid to the national tournament. Concordia has qualified for nationals for the fifth-straight year and for the sixth time in program history. Due to the Bulldogs’ lofty ranking, Concordia Athletics is preparing to host an NAIA National Championship Opening Round match on Saturday, Nov. 18 (with a first serve of 1 p.m. CT). In home opening round contests the previous two years, the Bulldogs defeated Ave Maria University (Fla.) in 2021 and Florida College in 2022. Both matches were won by Concordia in straight sets. The 24 winners from the opening round matches advance to play at the NAIA national tournament final site, the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
· The 2023 Bulldogs have captured a piece of history. Prior to this season, there had been two conference championship squads in the history of the program. The 1981 team went 9-1 in conference play and won the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title while the 2000 squad also went 9-1 in conference action and shared the GPAC regular season title (with two other teams). At 14-2 in GPAC play this season, Concordia has broken a school record for conference wins in a single season. The previous standard was 12 by both the 2015 and 2022 editions. Under Ben and Angie Boldt, the Bulldogs’ year-by-year GPAC regular season place finishes have been seventh, third, third, fifth, third and first, respectively. Boldt’s career GPAC record stands at 63-32. Never before has the program claimed a conference tournament championship.
· Through 25 matches this season, Concordia’s leaders by category are Keck in kills (283), Burtwistle in assists (997) and aces (27), Gebhardt in digs (343) and Nordaker in hitting percentage (.347) and blocks (100). In addition to Keck, four Bulldogs have accumulated at least 150 kills this season: Opfer (252), Nordaker (227), Rodaway (191) and Paulsen (153). As a team, the Bulldogs sport national rankings of first in kills per set (14.76) and fifth in hitting percentage (.275). Burtwistle ranks third nationally with an average of 11.87 assists per set.
· Since beginning his tenure as Bulldog head coach in 2018, Ben Boldt made it a standing goal for the program to win a GPAC championship. That goal became a reality on Oct. 31. Even without the conference title, the Boldts’ have accomplished impressive feats. Concordia is looking to reach the NAIA national tournament final site for the fifth year in a row. The program reached the national quarterfinals in 2020 and 2021 and ascended to the No. 1 ranking in the nation this October. The Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 4 in the NAIA. Boldt sports a record of 125-45 (.735) during his Concordia tenure.
· A couple of individual milestones were reached during last week’s action. In the regular season finale at Midland, Opfer moved past 1,500 career kills (now at 1,520). Only two other players in program history have reached 1,500 career kills: Becky Ernstmeyer (1,740) and Katie Werner (1,600). The Seward High School product has also surpassed 1,500 career digs (1,610) and ranks third in school history on that list. In the win over DWU, Opfer passed Jocelyn Garcia (1,594) on the career digs list. As part of the quarterfinal win, Burtwistle hit the 3,000-assist plateau (3,064) for her career. That total includes the one year Burtwistle spent at Midland. In school history, there are three Bulldogs with more than 4,000 assists: Stacy Stuckenschmidt (4,949), Tara Callahan (4,816) and Alayna Kavanaugh (4,485).
The opponent
Northwestern has taken over the No. 1 spot in the NAIA coaches’ poll, a position Concordia held down in the polls released on Sept. 27 and Oct. 11. The postseason run for the Red Raiders has included wins over Doane and No. 15 Midland. Among GPAC squads, Northwestern ranks first in blocks per set (3.51), second in hitting percentage (.232), second in digs per set (18.56) and third in kills per set (13.11). Zavyr Metzger leads the nation in blocks per set (2.00) for a Red Raider team that paces the NAIA in that same category. Offensively, Northwestern has two main attackers in outside hitters Jazlin De Haan (4.70 kills/set) and Alysen Dexter (3.36 kills/set). The only two defeats for the Red Raiders came in five sets at home to Jamestown and College of Saint Mary. Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch’s program is seeking its first GPAC tournament title since 2014. Van Den Bosch has won a combined 11 GPAC championships during his tenure that began in 2005. In this season’s Concordia-Northwestern matchup in Orange City on Oct. 14, the Red Raiders won, 26-24, 25-20, 25-16.
2023 GPAC Tournament
Quarterfinals – Saturday, Nov. 4
(1) Northwestern def. (8) Doane, 3-0
(4) Midland def. (5) College of Saint Mary, 3-1
(3) Jamestown def. (6) Morningside, 3-0
(2) Concordia def. (7) Dakota Wesleyan, 3-0
Semifinals – Wednesday, Nov. 8
(1) Northwestern def. (4) Midland, 3-1
(2) Concordia def. (3) Jamestown, 3-0
Championship – Saturday, Nov. 11
(2) Concordia at (1) Northwestern, 7:30 p.m.