SEWARD, Neb. – The win streak has grown to five following last week’s conference victories over No. 16 Midland and College of Saint Mary. The third-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball team opened league play at 2-0 while taking care of business at home. Next up, the Bulldogs will travel to Mount Marty before hosting Hastings for Homecoming Saturday. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad stands at 11-2 overall. Fans are encouraged to wear Bulldog Blue on Homecoming Saturday.
This Week
Wednesday, Sept. 16 at Mount Marty (8-9, 0-3 GPAC), 7:30 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Cimpl Arena (Yankton, S.D.)
Saturday, Sept. 19 vs. Hastings (9-2, 1-1 GPAC), 4 p.m. – Homecoming
--104.9 Max Country | Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
--Fans are encouraged to weary Bulldog Blue on Homecoming Saturday.
By the numbers
• Only Concordia and Northwestern (both 2-0 in the GPAC) survived the first full week of GPAC action without suffering a conference defeat. The Red Raiders have beaten Briar Cliff and No. 20 Morningside while backing up their preseason placement atop the GPAC coaches’ poll. Meanwhile, College of Saint Mary and Morningside are both 2-1 in league play. The conference performed well in nonconference action, resulting in five GPAC teams being ranked in the most recent NAIA top 20: No. 2 Northwestern, No. 3 Concordia, No. 11 Dakota Wesleyan, No. 16 Midland and No. 20 Morningside. CSM is listed in the “receiving votes” category.
• Defense was the name of the game last week as the Bulldogs defeated No. 16 Midland, 25-19, 25-18, 25-17, and College of Saint Mary, 21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 26-24, inside Friedrich Arena. The Warriors hit in the negative (-.025) while the Flames managed to hit .093. Over the two matches, Concordia held combined advantages of 82-66 in kills, 13-5 in aces, 127-122 in digs and 16-9 in blocks. Individual statistical leaders for the week were Shandy Fa’ali’i in kills (20), Myla Emery in assists (34) and digs (25), Clara Evert in aces (four) and Makenna Starkey in blocks (seven). Starkey was particularly effective versus College of Saint Mary, going for a career-high 15 kills (.478 hitting percentage) and six blocks. Fa’ali’i and Starkey were joined in double figures in kills for the week by Samantha Kimbell (15) and Bella Hedke (13).
• The role has rapidly been increasing for libero Jenna Sladky, who did the honors of ringing the bell following the win over CSM. In that victory, Sladky accumulated a career-high 17 digs. Over the past week, Sladky totaled 24 digs and was a perfect 15-for-15 in serve receive. The Wahoo, Neb., native has also been a regular at the service line and has tallied 12 aces on the season. Sladky and Emma Brueggemann provide Concordia with two strong options at the libero position.
• A sophomore from Minden, Neb., Makenna Starkey made a name for herself as a freshman in track and field as she equaled or surpassed Concordia school high jump records for indoor and outdoor (5’ 7” for both) and was a NAIA national qualifier. In year two on the volleyball court, Starkey has taken over a starting role. Over last week’s two wins, she combined for 19 kills on 34 attempts to go along with seven blocks. As a middle blocker, Starkey has accumulated 94 kills and 36 blocks this season. She is hitting .227. As a freshman, Starkey experienced the NAIA Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships and contributed to the volleyball team’s historic run to the national semifinals.
• On the NAIA national statistical leaderboards, the Bulldogs rank 10th in kills per set (13.20), 18th in aces per set (2.48), 21st in blocks per set (2.17), 53rd in hitting percentage (.195) and 91st in digs per set (15.30). Individually, Shandy Fa’ali’i ranks 30th nationally in kills per set (3.63) with a figure that places her third in the conference in that category. The team leader in aces, Kyla Griess sits tied for 54th nationally in aces per set (0.55).
• The successful first week of GPAC play represented a carryover from recent years for the Bulldogs. Concordia owns a mark of 35-2 over its last 37 GPAC regular season matches, dating back to October 2023. The Boldts led the Bulldogs to 15-1 conference records in both 2024 and 2025. The ’24 team went 14-2 in league play and shared the GPAC regular season title. Entering this season, Concordia has placed third or better in the GPAC in six of the past seven seasons. The Bulldogs also own an active streak of five straight GPAC tournament championship match appearances.
The opponents
Mount Marty finished the 2025 season at 12-16 overall (5-11 GPAC). Third-year Head Coach Sophia Paes has led her squad to an 8-9 mark (0-3 GPAC) entering this week. The Lancers have dropped GPAC matches (all in straight sets) to Doane, Hastings and No. 16 Midland. Returning Second Team All-GPAC middle hitter Caitlin Guenther leads the team in both kills (158) and blocks (62). As a team, Mount Marty is hitting .157 with an average of 10.81 kills per set compared to .145 hitting and 11.00 kills per set put forth by its opponents. Concordia has won each of the past 25 series meetings with the Lancers.
Hastings turned to Harley Rhoades as head coach beginning this season. Rhoades arrived in Hastings after previously serving as an assistant coach at NCAA Division II Chadron State College. The new era has started strong with the Broncos taking a 9-2 record into this Wednesday’s matchup with Doane. In league play, Hastings fell in five sets at College of Saint Mary and defeated Mount Marty in straight sets. Hastings brought back two Honorable Mention All-GPAC performers in libero Lainey Benson and outside hitter Makenna Sutter. Setter Fran Warson has targeted Sutter (104 kills) and Ilse Benne (102 kills) most frequently in the attack. The Hastings program last reached the national tournament in 2022. The Broncos celebrated a national championship in 2016. Concordia owns a 12-match win streak versus Hastings.
Next week
After playing three of their first four GPAC matches at home, the Bulldogs will be on the road for two contests next week. Concordia is slated to travel to Doane on Sept. 23 and to Dakota Wesleyan on Sept. 26.