SEWARD, Neb. – Less than two weeks into preseason practice, Concordia University Volleyball will knock off the rust on Saturday as it opens up the 2023 season. The Bulldogs from McPherson College (Kan.) will be the visitor when first serve is tossed up at 3 p.m. CT inside Friedrich Arena. Prior to the varsity match, Concordia’s JV team will take on the JV squad from Doane (1 p.m.). Head Coach Ben Boldt’s bunch enters this season with lofty expectations after having finished last season at 25-6 overall while climbing as high as No. 4 in the national poll.
This Week
Saturday, Aug. 19 vs. McPherson (15-15 in 2022), 3 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
By the numbers
· This is the start of year six for Ben and Angie Boldt at the controls of the program. The results have been impressive, particularly over the previous four seasons as the Bulldogs have gone a combined 87-31 with four consecutive trips to the final site of the NAIA National Championship tournament. Over that stretch, Concordia has landed end-of-season rankings of 14th in 2019, eighth in 2020, sixth in 2021 and fourth in 2022. The No. 4 national ranking in 2022 represents a highwater mark in the history of the program. A preseason poll for 2023 will be released on Wednesday (Aug. 16) by the NAIA. This past season, Ben Boldt hit a milestone by earning win No. 100 of his Concordia tenure.
· The Bulldogs are one of three teams nationally to return three All-Americans from last season, joining Park University (Mo.) and Viterbo University (Wis.). Concordia brings back star power in the form of setter Bree Burtwistle (Honorable Mention AA), middle blocker Gabi Nordaker (Second Team AA) and outside hitter Camryn Opfer (Second Team AA). The Bulldogs actually bring back all six of their All-GPAC selections from 2022. That group also features defensive specialist Becca Gebhardt, outside hitter Ashley Keck and right side Carly Rodaway. Keck was recognized as the GPAC Freshman of the Year (the same honor awarded to Opfer in 2019).
· The Seward High School alum Opfer has stated her case as one of the most accomplished players in Concordia volleyball’s history. In 118 career matches, Opfer has tallied 1,268 kills and 1,341 digs (in addition to 175 blocks and 63 aces). She is one of four players in program history to have eclipsed both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. Opfer will be shooting for a fifth career All-GPAC award after having been named second team all-conference in 2019 and 2020 and first team all-conference in 2021 and 2022. Both Opfer and Burtwistle opted in on a fifth year. NAIA volleyball players were not charged with a season of competition in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
· The Millard West High School alum Nordaker enters this season next in line to hit the 1,000-career kill mark. She’s totaled 893 kills and 342 blocks in 85 career matches. Nordaker garnered second team all-conference accolades in 2020 before rising to the first team in both 2021 and 2022. She hit a team best .353 last season and was a major reason why Concordia spent a good chunk of the 2022 campaign leading the country in hitting percentage. It wound up No. 2 in the NAIA with a .255 team hitting percentage. This could mark Nordaker’s final collegiate season, barring a decision to use the ‘COVID year’ of eligibility as Burtwistle and Opfer have done.
· The standing goal for the program is to win the GPAC championship, a feat that automatically makes a team a major player on the national scene. In the regular season, the Bulldogs have turned in respective place finishes the past four seasons of third, third, tied for fifth and third. They have also placed as the GPAC tournament runner up in back-to-back years. The program’s lone GPAC championship was a shared regular season title in 2000 (the first year of the GPAC’s existence). There was also a GPAC tournament runner up claim in 2015.
· The schedule for the 2023 regular season is broken down into seven nonconference matches and 16 GPAC matches. Concordia will have played three non-league contests before heading to Hastings on Aug. 29 for the GPAC opener. Outside of the GPAC, the Bulldogs will take on three teams that reached the national tournament final site in 2022: MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) on Aug. 26, Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) on Sept. 1 and Park University (Mo.) on Sept. 2. The clash with Park will be a rematch of last season’s NAIA Pool D winner-take-all that went the way of the Pirates. Concordia will also circle Oct. 6 on the calendar. That’s the date defending NAIA national champion Jamestown will be in town.
The opponent
The Bulldogs of McPherson, Kan., also paid a visit to Seward for the 2022 Bulldog Bash. Concordia defeated McPherson in straight sets, 25-10, 25-11, 25-23. McPherson went on to finish last season at 15-15 overall while having its run ended by Kansas Wesleyan University in the KCAC tournament. McPherson has reached the national tournament in recent years with appearances coming in 2018, 2020 and 2021. Cory Cahill is entering his fifth year as the program’s head coach and has compiled an overall record of 56-46 (42-17 in KCAC play). McPherson was picked fourth out of 14 teams in the 2023 KCAC preseason coaches’ poll. The Bulldogs return their leading hitter from last season, outside Katelyn Moore, who totaled 227 kills. As a team, McPherson hit .157 while allowing its opponents to hit .170 in 2022.
Next week – Bulldog Bash
The Bulldogs will remain at home to host the annual Bulldog Bash (Aug. 25-26). The match schedule for the event is listed below. All five matches will be played inside Friedrich Arena.
Friday, Aug. 25
5 p.m. – Northwestern vs. MidAmerica Nazarene
7:30 p.m. – Concordia vs. Langston
Saturday, Aug. 26
11 a.m. – MidAmerica Nazarene vs. Langston
1:30 p.m. – Northwestern vs. Langston
4 p.m. – Concordia vs. MidAmerica Nazarene