NAIA National Championship Bracket
SEWARD, Neb. – Here they are for the first time in program history. Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball will have had nearly 48 hours to rest, recover and mentally prepare itself to play in the NAIA National Semifinals by the time first serve arrives. The 2025 Bulldogs are one of the last four teams left standing following Saturday’s emotional late-night, five-set triumph over sixth-ranked University of Providence (Mont.). Head Coach Ben Boldt’s program made three previous trips to the national quarterfinals before breaking into the 2025 semifinals. Each of the NAIA’s top four seeds have advanced to play on Monday night. The highest stakes Concordia-Northwestern clash ever is up next.
NAIA National Semifinals / Championship
Semifinals – (3) Concordia (28-3) vs. (2) Northwestern (32-3)
Monday, Dec. 8 | 8 p.m. CST
Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa
Webcast: NAIA Network
Live Stats: Presto Stats
Radio: 104.9 Max Country (Parker Cyza)
Buy Tickets: TysonEventsCenter.com
Championship Match
Tuesday, Dec. 9 | 7 p.m. CST
Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa
Webcast: NAIA Network
Live Stats: Presto Stats
Radio: 104.9 Max Country (Parker Cyza)
Buy Tickets: TysonEventsCenter.com
By the numbers
· Since arriving in Sioux City, the Bulldogs have played 14 sets over three matches. In national championship pool play, Concordia defeated No. 22 Dakota Wesleyan, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-9, and No. 14 The Master’s University (Calif.), 25-22, 16-25, 25-23, 27-25. Then on Saturday, the Bulldogs started strong before letting the fourth set get away from them. Late in the evening, Concordia celebrated a national quarterfinal win over No. 6 Providence, 25-20, 25-22, 15-25, 25-27, 15-12. An impressive senior season continues for All-American Ashley Keck, who collected 24 kills, 29 digs, two blocks and an ace in the latest outing. The Bulldogs emerged victorious despite being outhit by the Argonauts, .198 to .172. In addition to Keck, Ella Waters (18) and Kya Scott (14) produced double-figure kill totals. In addition, four Concordia players reached double digits in digs: Keck, Shandy Faalii (20), Emma Brueggemann (18), Clara Evert (14) and Lily Psencik (10).
· The Bulldogs are in the midst of their eighth all-time national tournament appearance. Each of the program’s 19 national tournament wins have come since Ben and Angie Boldt arrived at Concordia prior to the start of the 2018 season. The program’s first ever national tournament win occurred in 2019 when the Bulldogs defeated No. 19 Montana Tech in four sets. Concordia proceeded to reach the NAIA national quarterfinals in 2020, 2021, 2024 and again in 2025. All-American middle blocker Gabi Nordaker (now a graduate assistant at former GPAC member Jamestown) was a key figure on each of the previous three national quarterfinalist teams. Another former Concordia All-American, Camryn Opfer owns program national tournament records for matches played (18), kills (225) and digs (272). Nordaker also played in 18 national tournament matches, racking up 85 blocks on the national stage (also a program record for the national tournament).
· Past teams helped pave the way for the 2025 squad to reach the national semifinals. In the program’s previous national quarterfinal matches, the Bulldogs were defeated by Dordt in 2020, Marian University (Ind.) in 2021 and Bellevue University in 2024. In response to last season's loss to Bellevue, Ben Boldt and his staff came up the team motto of “let it rip.” In other words, the emphasis has been placed upon big swings in big moments. In the fifth set of the win over Providence, Concordia put away kills for point Nos. 12, 13 and 14 thanks to the likes of Ashley Keck, Ella Waters and Kya Scott. For match point, Scott and Molli Martin combined on a denial that eventually led to an errant Providence pass into the net.
· The Kearney, Neb., native Keck has made herself a strong candidate for another NAIA National Championship All-Tournament Team award. Counting the opening round win over Florida National University, Keck has tallied 77 kills (4.53 per set), 82 digs (4.82 per set), 10 blocks and three aces to go with a .234 hitting percentage during the four-match national tournament run. In 14 career national tournament matches, Keck has totaled 180 kills and 182 digs. Her career highs on the national stage are 27 kills (2025 vs. Dakota Wesleyan) and 29 digs (2025 vs. DWU/Providence). In the latest win, Keck pushed her career kill total to 1,447, moving her past former teammate Gabi Nordaker (1,433) for No. 4 on the program’s all-time kills list. Keck’s 468 kills this season are the fifth most in the single season by a Bulldog and the most in a single season during the modern rally scoring era (2008-present). Keck also ranks ninth on the program’s all-time digs list with 1,257.
· Ben Boldt is now the winningest head coach in the history of Concordia Volleyball. He hit that mark on Saturday night with the victory over Providence. Boldt’s record over eight years leading the Bulldogs stands at 182-54 (.771). The previous standard bearer for wins was Berniece Jones, who won 181 matches while serving as head coach for the 1976 through 1988 seasons. In addition to the wins record, Boldt’s .771 win percentage is highest among the 10 head coaches in school history. Two others notched at least 100 wins: Vicki Boye (167) and Rachel Miller (107).
· Through the first four national tournament matches in this 2025 run, Concordia’s statistical leaders by category are: Ashley Keck in kills (77) and digs (82), Savannah Shelburne in assists (102), Shandy Faalii in aces (four) and Ella Waters in blocks (19). Other kills leaders include Scott (49), Waters (43), Maddie Paulsen (21), Molli Martin (19) and Ava Greene (16). As a team, the Bulldogs have hit.184 with an average of 14.0 kills per set on the national stage. Their opponents have hit .132 with 11.53 kills per set.
· The No. 3 seed marks the highest Concordia has ever attained on the national tournament stage. The Bulldogs entered each of the previous three national tournaments as the No. 4 seed. Lofty national rankings have become the norm for the program. The Bulldogs have appeared inside the NAIA top five of 24 consecutive NAIA coaches’ polls. During the 2023 season, Concordia twice landed the NAIA No. 1 ranking. The Bulldogs will finish as a nationally ranked team for the seventh year in a row. Concordia concluded the previous six seasons with national rankings of 14th in 2019, eighth in 2020, sixth in 2021, fourth in both 2022 and 2023 and fifth in 2024 (no rankings were issued after the national tournaments in 2022 or 2023).
The opponent
(2) Northwestern (32-3) – The Red Raiders are riding a 21-match overall win streak into Monday’s semifinal clash. The national tournament path for Northwestern has included wins over Saint Xavier University (opening round), No. 23 Lewis-Clark State (pool play), No. 15 Aquinas (pool play) and No. 7 Bellevue (quarterfinals). Each of those victories was polished off in straight sets. The Red Raiders are led by GPAC Player of the Year Stella Winterfeld and fellow 2025 First Team All-GPAC honorees in middle blockers Zavyr Metzger and Maddy Sampson. Metzger is the national leader in blocks per set at 2.01. Winterfield ranks fifth nationally with an average of 4.38 kills per set. Accomplished Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch has led the program to its second national semifinal appearance. Northwestern finished as the 2023 NAIA national runner up. The winner between Concordia/Northwestern will attempt to become the first GPAC national champion since Jamestown in 2022. The Red Raiders have twice defeated the Bulldogs in four sets this season (including the GPAC Championship Match).
The other semifinal
No. 1 Eastern Oregon University and No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan University will match up at 6 p.m. on Monday in the first semifinal. The Bulldogs played both teams early in the regular season. They won at Indiana Wesleyan in five sets and lost in three sets to Eastern Oregon on a neutral court. The Wildcats of Marion, Ind., are aiming to win their third straight national championship.
Concordia National Tournament History
Eight appearances | 19-8 national tournament record | four-time national quarterfinalists
* 2025 NAIA National Semifinalist *
2015
Opening Round – L, 0-3 vs. Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
2019
Pool Play – W, 3-1 vs. No. 19 Montana Tech
Pool Play – W, 3-0 vs. Saint Mary (Kan.)
Pool Play – L, 2-3 vs. No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan
RD of 16 – L, 0-3 vs. No. 4 Missouri Baptist
2020
Opening Round – W, 3-1 at Xavier (La.)
Pool Play – W, 3-2 vs. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Pool Play – W, 3-1 vs. No. 7 Marian (Ind.)
Quarterfinals – L, 0-3 vs. No. 16 Dordt
2021
Opening Round – W, 3-0 vs. Ave Maria (Fla.)
Pool Play – W, 3-1 vs. No. 25 Oregon Tech
Pool Play – W, 3-2 vs. No. 2 Viterbo (Wis.)
Quarterfinals – L, 2-3 vs. No. 7 Marian (Ind.)
2022
Opening Round – W, 3-0 vs. Florida College
Pool Play – W, 3-1 vs. Hastings
Pool Play – L, 1-3 vs. No. 13 Park (Mo.)
2023
Opening Round – W, 3-0 vs. Judson (Ill.)
Pool Play – W, 3-0 vs. No. 21 Montana Tech
Pool Play – L, 0-3 vs. No. 13 Midland
2024
Opening Round – W, 3-0 vs. Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)
Pool Play – W, 3-1 vs. No. 21 The Master’s (Calif.)
Pool Play – W, 3-0 vs. No. 13 Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio)
Quarterfinals – L, 2-3 vs. No. 5 Bellevue
2025
Opening Round – W, 3-0 vs. Florida National
Pool Play – W, 3-2 vs. No. 22 Dakota Wesleyan
Pool Play – W, 3-1 vs. No. 14 The Master’s (Calif.)
Quarterfinals – W, 3-2 vs. No. 6 Providence (Mont.)