SEWARD, Neb. – Only four matches remain in the regular season as Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball continues to hover near the top of the league standings. The third-ranked Bulldogs returned to the win column last week as they swept Mount Marty at home and then went on the road to defeat College of Saint Mary in four sets. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad stands at 20-3 overall (11-1 GPAC) and gets a well-earned break in the middle of this week. Concordia should be rejuvenated heading into Saturday’s clash with rival Midland in Fremont.
This Week
Wednesday, Oct. 21 – Bye
Saturday, Oct. 24 at No. 14 Midland (17-8, 8-4 GPAC), 5 p.m.
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By the numbers
• A fresh NAIA top 25 poll was released by the National Selection Committee on Wednesday (Oct. 21). The Bulldogs remained steady at No. 3. Meanwhile, Northwestern leapfrogged Eastern Oregon University for the No. 1 spot. No. 4 Missouri Baptist University and No. 5 College of Idaho rounded out the top five. Other GPAC teams that landed in the top 25 were No. 8 Morningside, No. 14 Midland and No. 18 Dordt. Based on the new top 25, Concordia owns wins over No. 8 Morningside, No. 10 McPherson College (Kan.), No. 14 Midland and No. 17 Nelson University (Texas).
• Coming off their first GPAC loss of the season, the Bulldogs bounced back last week as they posted wins over Mount Marty (home), 25-15, 25-18, 25-21, and at College of Saint Mary, 25-18, 19-25, 25-20, 25-13. Both contests were promoted as pink matches in awareness of breast cancer. It was a statistically dominant week for Concordia, which outnumbered its two opponents 92-71 in kills, .272 to .084 in hitting percentage, 16-12 in aces and 20-5 in blocks. Noteworthy individual efforts were put forth by the likes of freshman Samantha Kimbell and sophomore Makenna Starkey. The Dakota Dunes, S.D., native Kimbell collected 21 kills while hitting .408 for the week. Meanwhile, Starkey amassed 14 kills and 10 blocks and hit .429 from the middle. Bella Hedke equaled Starkey with 10 blocks of her own. As usual, Shandy Fa’ali’i was the team leader in kills (23 on the week).
• Considering the youth, the Bulldogs have hummed along impressively, hitting the 20-win mark for the sixth time (fifth straight year) during the nine-year tenure of coaches Ben and Angie Boldt. Including Ava Greene (who has been sidelined by injury), Concordia lost 87.5 percent of its kills from the 2025 team that reached the national semifinals. The ’25 team, led by NAIA First Team All-American Ashley Keck, hit .207 and averaged 13.46 kills per set. The numbers are similar this season – the Bulldogs are hitting .209 while averaging 13.14 kills per set. Freshman Myla Emery and sophomore Ella Brueggemann have jumped into the fire as a setter tandem. The duo has teed the ball up for six teammates who have swatted at least 95 kills this season: Shandy Fa’ali’i (288), Makenna Starkey (165), Samantha Kimbell (157), Bella Hedke (131), Laynee Baker (98) and Maddie Paulsen (95).
• The Oct. 9 victory at Waldorf marked the 200th in Ben Boldt’s nine-year tenure leading the Bulldogs (2018-present). Boldt is the program’s all-time winningest coach in terms of both overall wins and winning percentage (.775). Under the guidance of Ben Boldt and Associate Head Coach Angie Boldt, Concordia has reached seven straight national tournaments with quarterfinal appearances in four of those trips. The 2025 team broke new ground for the program by reaching the national semifinals. Each of the past five Bulldog teams have advanced to the GPAC Championship Match, including the 2023 squad that shared the conference regular season title.
• Concordia aspires to finish with a 15-1 conference mark for the third straight year. Since the start of the 2024 season, the Bulldogs have gone a combined 41-3 in GPAC regular season play (with all three defeats coming at the hands of Northwestern). The Red Raiders entered this week at 11-0 in league play with a remaining schedule that includes Morningside (away), Briar Cliff (home), Dakota Wesleyan (away), Mount Marty (away) and Dordt (away). The conference is deep on potential national tournament teams. The top seven teams in the GPAC standings all sport overall winning percentages above .700. Morningside (9-3 GPAC) holds down third place with Dordt, Hastings and Midland clustered together with four GPAC losses apiece.
• On the NAIA national leaderboards, the Bulldogs rank tied for seventh in blocks per set (2.44), 12th in kills per set (13.14), 18th in aces per set (2.34), 45th in hitting percentage (.209) and 90th in digs per set (15.61). Individually, Shandy Fa’ali’i ranks in a tie for 25th nationally with an average of 3.60 kills per set. At the service line, aggressiveness has been a season long theme. Six Concordia players enter the week with at least 25 aces: Fa’ali’i (36), Ella Brueggemann (31), Clara Evert (31), Kyla Griess (30), Myla Emery (28) and Jenna Sladky (25). Griess did the honors of ringing the bell after last week’s win over Mount Marty.
• Concordia is now 6-0 versus in-state opponents this season. That record includes the season opening nonconference win over York University. Dating back to last season, the Bulldogs have won 16 consecutive matches against other Nebraska institutions. The most recent loss to an in-state foe occurred in the 2024 NAIA quarterfinals (in five sets to No. 5 Bellevue University). Against Midland, this week’s opponent, Concordia owns a seven-match series win streak. The Sept. 9 meeting inside Friedrich Arena was a lopsided one with the Bulldogs winning, 25-19, 25-18, 25-17, while holding the Warriors to a negative hitting percentage (-.025).
The opponent
Midland is in the midst of year two under the direction of Micah Rhodes as head coach. He replaced the highly successful Paul Giesselmann prior to the 2025 season. Rhodes led the ’25 team to a 19-12 overall record and a trip to the final site of the national tournament. The Warriors are positioned to make another national tournament appearance, landing at No. 14 in the latest NAIA selection committee poll. Based upon rankings at the time matches were played, Midland owns wins over No. 17 Aquinas (Mich.), No. 21 Cornerstone (Mich.), No. 25 Viterbo (Wis.), No. 12 Oklahoma Wesleyan and No. 14 St. Thomas (Fla.). The Warriors dipped back outside of league play on Tuesday and fell in four sets at Grand View (Iowa). This season, Rhodes welcomed back five 2025 GPAC All-Conference players, including first teamers Abree Plueger and Brooklynn Snyder, second teamers Lauren Jones and Brena Mackling and honorable mention award winner Claire Johnson. The prolific Snyder leads the team with 334 kills (3.59 per set) and is hitting .245 from the outside. The Warriors have qualified for the national tournament in 12 of the past 13 seasons (six in a row). Midland is averaging 13.02 kills per set while hitting .218.
Next week
The Bulldogs will get back to playing twice next week as the regular season nears the finish line. Concordia will play at Hastings on Wednesday, Oct. 28 before welcoming Dordt to Friedrich Arena for a Halloween Saturday afternoon matchup.