SEWARD, Neb. – Fresh off a 3-0 road trip to Oregon, the 11th-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team returned home for the start of classes. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad now prepares to make its first home appearances of the 2022 season. The Bulldogs will welcome three teams to Friedrich Arena for the Bulldog Bash that will unfold on Friday and Saturday. The visitors will be College of Saint Mary, McPherson College (Kan.) and Texas Wesleyan University. In the NAIA preseason coaches’ poll, CSM was ranked 18th while McPherson and Texas Wesleyan received votes.
Bulldog Bash – Aug. 26-27
-Friedrich Arena | Seward, Neb.
-Live webcast/stats (all five matches): Concordia Sports Network
-Order tickets online (also sold on site)
Friday, Aug. 26
4:30 p.m. – College of Saint Mary vs. Texas Wesleyan
7 p.m. – Concordia vs. McPherson
Saturday, Aug. 27
11 a.m. – McPherson vs. Texas Wesleyan
1:30 p.m. – College of Saint Mary vs. McPherson
4 p.m. – Concordia vs. Texas Wesleyan
By the numbers
· During its stay last week in Ashland, Ore., home to Southern Oregon University, Concordia defeated No. 19 Oregon Tech in four sets, Southern Oregon in five sets and Park University-Gilbert (Ariz.) in three sets. Collectively over the first three matches, the Bulldogs have hit .227 while limiting their opponents to a .146 attacking percentage. Concordia has also outnumbered its opponents in the categories of kills, 158-142, aces, 17-9, and digs, 201-177. As of the beginning of the week, the Bulldogs rank 16th nationally in kills per set (13.17).
· This is the start of year No. 4 for Seward High School product Camryn Opfer, a two-time NAIA National Championship All-Tournament Team honoree. Following last week’s matches, Opfer has run her career collegiate totals to 983 digs and 978 kills in 90 matches (330 sets) since the start of the 2019 season. Opfer is on the verge of becoming the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 kills and digs in a career. The others are Becky Ernstmeyer (1,740 kills / 2,235 digs), Renae Beikmann (1,223 kills / 1,187 digs) and Darcy Linder (1,204 kills / 1,187 digs). On the program’s all-time lists, Opfer currently ranks eighth in digs and ninth in kills. Last week, Opfer moved past former teammate Emmie Noyd (973) on the kills list.
· A transfer from Midland, Bree Burtwistle has stepped into a role as the team’s primary setter. At the Raider Invitational, Burtwistle posted a combined 120 assists (10.0/set) and 45 digs. The Stanton, Neb., native first entered the program in 2020. This being her third year as a Bulldog, Burtwistle’s transition to an elevated role has been smooth. For the previous five years, Tara Callahan had started at setter and accumulated 4,816 career assists. Coach Boldt says Concordia still may still use a 5-2 system at times. In that case, Bree Green will also see action at setter.
· Ben and Angie Boldt are in their fifth seasons leading a Bulldog Volleyball program that has been wildly successful since breaking through with a journey to the national round of 16 in 2019. Due to the oddities created by COVID-19, Concordia reached the NAIA national quarterfinals twice in the calendar year of 2021. The Bulldogs went on a late season surge in ’21 and advanced to the GPAC tournament championship match and knocked off second-ranked Viterbo (Wis.) as part of the national tournament run. The ’21 team was ranked No. 6 in the NAIA postseason poll. That is the highest ranking in the history of the program.
· The program has concluded three-straight seasons with top 15 national rankings in the official poll. The Bulldogs garnered final postseason national rankings of 14th in 2019, eighth in 2020 and sixth in 2021. Concordia has appeared inside the top 25 in 18 of the past 20 coaches’ polls (also received votes when not appearing in the top 25. Concordia is one of four NAIA programs nationally to advance to bracket play at the national tournament in each of the past three seasons (the others are Jamestown, Missouri Baptist and Northwestern). All eight of the program’s all-time national tournament victories have come since Ben and Angie Boldt took on leadership of the Bulldogs.
Bulldog Bash visitors
College of Saint Mary – The Flames are coming off a 2021 season that saw them go 27-6 overall and advance to the final site of the national tournament. Head Coach Rick Pruett’s squad returns GPAC Libero of the Year Rachel Cushing and is ranked No. 18 in the NAIA preseason poll. CSM started its season with a trip to West Palm Beach, Fla., and came away with wins over Columbia International University, Faulkner University (Ala.), No. 20 Columbia College (Mo.) and Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.). While going 4-0 in Florida, the Flames hit .278 and averaged 14.27 kills per set behind leading attacker Lexie Langley, a transfer from Augustana University. Concordia will wait to play CSM until Sept. 17.
McPherson – The Bulldogs of McPherson, Kan., finished last season at 16-9 overall after falling at Jamestown in the opening round of the national tournament. This year’s squad, led by Head Coach Cory Cahill, has started out 4-0 with all wins coming in straight sets in action that took place in Bowling Green, Ky., Aug. 19-20. McPherson stifled its first four opponents, which combined to hit .067. So far, the team’s leading hitter has been outside Katelyn Moore, who has notched 35 kills and is hitting .270. Concordia last met McPherson in 2018 when the Bulldogs from Seward came away with a four-set win in a matchup contested in Hastings, Neb. McPherson is receiving votes nationally.
Texas Wesleyan – The Rams produced a 27-6 overall record in 2021 and advanced to the final site of the NAIA national tournament. Head Coach Jessica Ransom’s ’22 team has started 3-0 with the wins coming over Huston-Tillotson (Texas), Evangel University (Mo.) and Our Lady of the Lake (Texas). The most decorated returner is right side Sydney Charlton, named second team all-conference last season in the Sooner Athletic Conference. Texas Wesleyan is replacing 2021 SAC Most Valuable Player Bailey Foy. The Rams finished last season ranked No. 23 in the NAIA and were just outside of the top 25 this preseason.