SEWARD, Neb. – The streak lives on for a Concordia University Volleyball program that produces excellent results both on the court and in the classroom. The 2022-23 Bulldog squad that rose as high as No. 4 in the national poll has pushed the program’s streak of consecutive Team Academic Awards from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) to 25. The active streak ranks No. 1 in the NAIA and tied for first among volleyball programs across all levels of collegiate competition.
The AVCA team award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s 2022-23 team produced GPA’s of 3.72 for the fall semester and 3.71 for the spring semester and garnered Honor Roll distinction from the AVCA. The program’s streak of consecutive AVCA Team Academic Awards dates back to 1999. The next longest streak in the NAIA is 16.
Impressively, the 2022 Concordia squad also landed 18 team members on the list of NAIA Scholar-Athletes. That bunch included four Bulldogs named Academic All-District award winners by College Sports Communicators: Bree Burtwistle, Rebecca Gebhardt, Camryn Opfer and Carly Rodaway. Concordia finished the 2022 season at 25-6 overall.
The schedule for the 2023 season can be viewed HERE. Concordia is scheduled to open the campaign at home versus McPherson College (Kan.) on Aug. 19.