NAIA Volleyball National Championship Pools
Concordia National Tournament Guide | PDF
SEWARD, Neb. – The 15th-ranked Concordia University volleyball team now has national tournament opponents to prepare for. On Sunday (Nov. 24), the NAIA announced pool play assignments for all 32 teams that have advanced to the final site of the 2019 NAIA Volleyball National Championship. The Bulldogs have been placed in Pool C along with No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan University, No. 19 Montana Tech and University of Saint Mary (Kan.).
Pool play will get underway on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Matches begin in the morning all three days (Dec. 3-5) of pool play (three courts with simultaneous action), but head coach Ben Boldt’s squad has drawn prime time slotting.
Concordia pool play matches
Tuesday, Dec. 3 – vs. No. 19 Montana Tech, 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 4 – vs. Saint Mary, 8 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 5 – vs. No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan, 6 p.m.
Concordia earned a direct path to Sioux City by way of its No. 15 national ranking. The Bulldogs own a 23-6 overall record and own four wins over squads that will join them in Sioux City. Concordia has been idle since falling in five sets in the GPAC tournament semifinals at No. 8 Jamestown on Nov. 13. Now the program seeks its first-ever victory on the national stage. The 2015 Bulldog squad that qualified for the opening round of the national tournament was defeated inside Walz Arena by Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.).
Live coverage
Most Concordia matches can be heard live on 104.9 Max Country (the Dec. 4 match will not be on Max Country due to a conflict with basketball). Frank Greene will call the action. The NAIA Network – the association's official video-streaming home – will broadcast 60 matches live at the 2019 NAIA Volleyball National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The video platform, powered by Stretch Internet, allows users access to live video, statistics and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while a pool play pass is $24.95 (Dec. 3-5) and a championship package is available at $39.95. You can also buy an All-Championship pass and watch every championship streamed on the NAIA Network in 2019. Buy your All-Championship Pass today.
Pool play opponents
No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan University
Record: 34-1
Head coach: Candace Moats, 18th season
Location: Marion, Indiana
Conference: Crossroads League
Hitting %: .280 (2nd in NAIA)
Kills/set: 14.7 (1st)
Blocks/set: 1.9 (T-62nd)
Aces/set: 1.6 (T-90th)
No. 19 Montana Tech
Record: 25-7
Head coach: Brian Solomon, 8th season
Location: Butte, Montana
Conference: Frontier Conference
Hitting %: .197 (T-52nd)
Kills/set: 13.1 (26th)
Blocks/set: 2.3 (T-15th)
Aces/set: 1.5 (T-108th)
University of Saint Mary
Record: 30-10
Head coach: Amy Beall, 4th season
Location: Leavenworth, Kansas
Conference: Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
Hitting %: .194 (T-57th)
Kills/set: 12.4 (T-56th)
Blocks/set: 1.8 (T-81st)
Aces/set: 1.5 (T-108th)
NOTES
• Concordia is making its second all-time appearance in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship and first-ever trip to the final site of the national tournament. The 2015 squad qualified for the opening round of the event and fell at home in straight sets to Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.). The ‘15 Bulldogs went 26-9 overall and advanced to the GPAC tournament championship match while being led by previous head coach Scott Mattera. The 2019 squad has a chance to become the first in school history to win a national tournament match.
• The program has rebounded quickly from a 9-19 record in 2017. Coaches Ben and Angie Boldt arrived following the ‘17 campaign and helped Concordia improve to 15-12 in 2018. Both Boldts graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where they served as student support staff for head coach John Cook. Ben and Angie possess experience at many levels of collegiate volleyball having also spent time together as assistants at places such as the University of Alabama, the University of Arkansas and the University of Iowa.
• Prior to the start of this season, the Bulldogs had not cracked the NAIA top 25 since the 2016 preseason poll. This season, Concordia first landed in the top 25 on Oct. 23 when it appeared at No. 17. The Bulldogs then moved up to 16th on Nov. 6, climbed to No. 15 on Nov. 13 and then remained in that position in the final regular-season poll released on Nov. 18. During the GPAC era (2000-present), the program’s highest ever rating was 12th in 2000 when Concordia shared the conference regular-season title.
• The Bulldogs are 4-4 against teams that qualified for the national tournament. That mark includes wins over College of Saint Mary (twice), Corban University (Ore.) and Morningside. The losses came against Jamestown (twice), Morningside and Northwestern. Concordia also defeated two squads that just missed out on at-large berths: Dordt and Midland.
• Camryn Opfer became the first player in program history to earn GPAC Freshman of the Year accolades. The Seward High School product has produced 280 kills, 272 digs and 39 blocks while playing in 105 sets this season. While a prep, Opfer collected all-state recognition four times and led the Bluejays to a combined 105 wins and a state tournament appearance. Opfer originally committed to play volleyball at NCAA Division II Washburn University before choosing to stay at home.
• Junior setter Tara Callahan has made effective use of five main attacking options throughout this season. Five of her teammates have at least 190 kills: Emmie Noyd (346), Camryn Opfer (280), Kara Stark (249), Kalee Wiltfong (240) and Arleigh Costello (191). Callahan ranks 10th nationally with an average of 10.71 assists per set. As a team, the Bulldogs sport NAIA national rankings of 15th in hitting percentage (.232) and 16th in kills per set (13.53).
• After national qualifiers were announced on Nov. 18, Coach Ben Boldt talked to his team about not being satisfied with just being at the national tournament. Said Boldt, “There have been a couple of results this year, against Jamestown and Northwestern, that have shown us that we can compete at the highest level with teams across the nation. We truly believe that we’ve earned our way there. We’re not in a position where we’re just satisfied to get there. We want to compete to win the thing. That’s one of our goals. They have that edge behind them and I’m excited to see what we can do when we get out on the court.” Said senior Emmie Noyd, “It’s a dream come true, honestly. I think any college athlete wants to get to nationals. For it to be my senior season and to end it that way is a great experience.”