2023 Women’s Volleyball NAIA Scholar-Athletes
SEWARD, Neb. – Only one NAIA women’s volleyball program nationally can boast more 2023 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes than the Concordia University Volleyball team. Eighteen Bulldogs landed on the Scholar-Athlete list released by the NAIA on Tuesday (Nov. 28). The group of Concordia award winners includes repeat honorees in Bree Burtwistle, Ashtynne Frahm, Rebecca Gebhardt, Kelsi Heard, Sara Huss, Cassidy Knust, Lexie Kreizel, Carmyn Opfer, Carly Rodaway, Addison Smith and Shelby Stark.
The 2023 list of women’s volleyball honorees nationally includes 1,206 student-athletes. In order to be nominated by an institution’s head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, must appear on the eligibility certificate for the sport and have attended one full year at said institution.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s program also had exactly 18 NAIA Scholar-Athletes in 2022. The current squad is getting set to appear at the 2023 NAIA Volleyball National Championship final site. Concordia enters action in Sioux City, Iowa, with a 24-3 overall record while seeding fourth in the nation. The Bulldogs will take on No. 21 Montana Western University on Wednesday and No. 13 Midland on Friday as part of NAIA pool play. Concordia has reached the final site for the fifth-consecutive year.
Concordia University ranks as the NAIA’s all-time leader in number of Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes with 2,322 entering the 2023-24 academic year. The school record for number of Scholar-Athletes in one academic year is 226 achieved in 2019-20. Concordia has been a regular national leader for both Scholar-Athletes and Scholar-Teams.
2023 Concordia Volleyball Scholar-Athletes
· Bree Burtwistle (Stanton, Neb.)
· Autumn Deterding (Cambridge, Neb.)
· Ashtynne Frahm (Omaha, Neb.)
· Rebecca Gebhardt (Norfolk, Neb.)
· Kate Griess (Sutton, Neb.)
· Kelsi Heard (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
· Sara Huss (Fairbury, Neb.)
· Ashley Keck (Kearney, Neb.)
· Cassidy Knust (Aurora, Neb.)
· Lexie Kreizel (Lincoln, Neb.)
· Molli Martin (Lincoln, Neb.)
· Delaney Novy (Lincoln, Neb.)
· Camryn Opfer (Seward, Neb.)
· Lily Psencik (Lincoln, Neb.)
· Carly Rodaway (Lincoln, Neb.)
· Kya Scott (Broken Bow, Neb.)
· Addison Smith (Seward, Neb.)
· Shelby Stark (Magnolia, Texas)