Bulldogs prepping for showdown with defending GPAC champ

By Jacob Knabel on Oct. 6, 2020 in Volleyball

SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia University Volleyball team has passed all tests placed in front of it. Another significant challenge awaits on Saturday when the Bulldogs will welcome defending GPAC champion Northwestern to Walz Arena. First serve is set for 3 p.m. CT. It will be the first and only meeting this regular season between the two sides.

Match Info
Saturday, Oct. 10 vs. Northwestern (4-1, 2-1 GPAC)
-Live Webcast/Stats

By the time the action gets underway on Saturday, Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad will have had more than a week between matches. Such is life in 2020 when schedule changes and postponements have occurred regularly. Concordia has handled that lack of rhythm quite impressively while out to a 5-0 start with all matches coming against conference opponents. Not since the very first year of the GPAC (2000) had the program opened up conference play with a 5-0 mark. The ’00 squad, coached by Becky Ernstmeyer, went on to share the GPAC regular-season title. As it stands, Concordia and Jamestown (4-0 GPAC) are the lone unbeaten teams in the conference.

The Bulldogs finally dropped a set last week when Midland edged them in the third, 27-25, last week. Concordia shook off the minor setback and claimed the fourth set. Junior right side hitter Arleigh Costello starred as the team’s top hitter last week with a combined 22 kills (.302 hitting percentage) in the victories over Midland and Dordt. Budding freshman Gabi Nordaker was held in check on the attack by Midland, but she made a big impact with six blocks. The victory at Dordt was dominated by a back row that compiled 55 digs (out of 106 attacks). Four Bulldogs posted 10 or more digs: Marissa Hoerman (17), Tara Callahan (11), Erin Johnson (10) and Camryn Opfer (10).

Despite being held to hitting percentages below .200 in both of last week’s outings, Concordia continues to rank as one of the nation’s top attacking teams. The Bulldogs sport NAIA rankings of ninth in assists per set (12.81), ninth in hitting percentage (.246), ninth in kills per set (13.88) and 21st in blocks per set (2.19). On the individual national leaderboards, Callahan ranks third in assists (11.31) and Nordaker ranks fifth in hitting percentage (.404) and 14th in blocks per set (1.44).

The Red Raiders are in the midst of a hectic week. In a result that raised some eyebrows on Monday night, Northwestern was beaten at home in straight sets by Dordt, 25-20, 25-21, 25-16. However, Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch’s team remains a clear threat in the GPAC and nationally. The Red Raiders started last season 28-0 before falling in the GPAC tournament quarterfinals. They went on to advance to the NAIA national quarterfinals (lost to Jamestown). Northwestern returns reigning GPAC and NAIA National Player of the Year Anna Wedel. From the outside, Wedel has hammered 1,065 kills in her career. The Red Raiders brought back two other 2019 first team All-GPAC honorees in Makenzie Fink and AJ Kacmarynski.

If things go as planned, Concordia will play four conference matches next week, including two at home versus Mount Marty (5-6, 0-2 GPAC) on the same day (Oct. 13). The Bulldogs are also slated to play at Jamestown (5-0, 4-0 GPAC) on Oct. 16 and at Dakota Wesleyan (6-4, 3-4 GPAC) on Oct. 17.