SEWARD, Neb. – For the fifth year in a row, and for the sixth time in program history, Concordia University, Nebraska’s Friedrich Arena will serve as a host site for NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round competition. As announced by the NAIA National Office on Monday (Nov. 17), the Bulldogs will host Florida National University in the opening round on Saturday afternoon. The contest will mark the 24th all-time national tournament match for the Bulldogs. The NAIA Opening Round is made up of 24 matches across the country. Concordia is the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament field.
NAIA National Championship Opening Round
Concordia (24-3) vs. Florida National (17-18)
--Saturday, Nov. 22 | 1 p.m. CT | Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats
--Admission: $10 for adults/senior citizens, $5 for college/high school students and youth; only those with NAIA passes are admitted free of charge.
--Buy advance tickets via https://www.cune.edu/athletics/tickets.
Head Coach Ben Boldt and lead assistant Angie Boldt have guided the program to a seventh straight national tournament appearance. A win on Saturday would push Concordia to the national tournament final site for what would also be the seventh year in a row. The Bulldogs earned an automatic bid to the 2025 national tournament via their GPAC runner up placement. Concordia stands at 24-3 overall (15-1 GPAC) while led by GPAC Attacker of the Year Ashley Keck. As a team, the Bulldogs rank in the top 30 nationally in the categories of hitting percentage, kills per set, blocks per set and digs per set. Keck was one of seven Concordia players honored on Monday with all-conference recognition.
Florida National qualified automatically for the opening round as the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) tournament runner up. The Conquistadors own a 17-18 overall record (8-2 conference) and are located in Hialeah, Florida. Currently in his 12th season as head coach, Carlos Huaroto-Luque has led the program back to the national tournament for the second time. Its first ever national tournament appearance came in 2021. In the ’21 NAIA Opening Round, Florida National traveled to College of Saint Mary and fell in straight sets. The current Conquistadors squad averages 2.21 aces per set, tied for the 15th most in the nation. This will mark the third time the Bulldogs have hosted a team from Florida in the Opening Round. Ave Maria University (2021) and Florida College (2022) also made visits to Friedrich Arena.
The Matchup
--National ranking in parentheses
Concordia
Head Coach: Ben Boldt, 8th season
Record: 24-3, 15-1 GPAC (2nd)
NAIA RPI: 4th
NAIA SOS: 11th
Hitting %: .217 (28th)
Kills/set: 13.46 (12th)
Blocks/set: 2.42 (T-9th)
Digs/set: 18.48 (15th)
Aces/set: 1.44 (T-161st)
Kills: Ashley Keck – 391 (4.12/set)
Blocks: Ava Greene – 117 (1.26/set)
Assists: Lily Psencik – 484 (5.69/set)
Digs: Ashley Keck – 402 (4.23/set)
Aces: Shandy Faalii – 27 (0.28/set)
Florida National
Head Coach: Carlos Huaroto-Luque, 12th season
Record: 17-8, 8-2 CAC
NAIA RPI: 140th
NAIA SOS: 150th
Hitting %: .155 (T-110th)
Kills/set: 10.70 (145th)
Blocks/set: 0.98 (199th)
Digs/set: 16.76 (T-60th)
Aces/set: 2.21 (T-15th)
Kills: Chriselle Ferdinand – 361 (3.14/set)
Blocks: Keelee Okoro – 58 (0.50/set)
Assists: Ivette Sandoval – 629 (5.20/set)
Digs: Ariana Long – 464 (3.83/set)
Aces: Kitula Amaya Morales – 59 (0.53/set)
National Tournament Facts/Game Notes
· Concordia will be making the eighth national tournament appearance in program history. The 2015 squad became the first Bulldog volleyball edition to qualify for nationals. The ’15 squad was defeated in the opening round while hosting Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.). Then in 2019, Concordia broke through with an advancement to the national round of 16 and claimed the program’s first two national tournament victories – over Montana Tech and the University of Saint Mary (Kan.). The string of national tournament appearances has continued since 2019 under the direction of the Boldts.
· The 2020 team took things a step further by reaching the NAIA national quarterfinals. The path to the quarterfinals included wins over Xavier University of Louisiana (opening round), Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) and No. 7 Marian University (Ind.). The run ended with a loss to Dordt. The 2021 and 2024 squads also advanced to the NAIA national quarterfinals, which continues to be the farthest point the program has ever reached. The ’24 team captured national tournament wins over Our Lady of the Lake (Texas), No. 21 The Master’s (Calif.) and No. 13 Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio).
· GPAC All-Conference honors for 2025 were announced on Monday morning. Special accolades went to senior outside hitter Ashley Keck as the GPAC Attacker of the Year, libero Emma Brueggemann as the GPAC Freshman of the Year and Angie Boldt as the GPAC AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year. Keck was joined on the league’s first team by middle blocker Ava Greene and right side Ella Waters. In addition, Brueggemann and senior middle blocker Molli Martin were named to the second team and honorable mention status was claimed by sophomore defensive specialist Shandy Faalii and senior outside hitter Kya Scott. Keck is now a two-time GPAC Attacker of the Year and a four-time all-conference award winner over her career. Waters has earned first team accolades in back-to-back years.
· National tournament experience on roster
· Concordia owns nine wins over teams that qualified for the 2025 national tournament: Bethel College (Kan.), Columbia College (Mo.), Dakota Wesleyan, Indiana Wesleyan University, MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.), Midland (three times) and Viterbo University (Wis.). Four GPAC teams have qualified for the national tournament and three of them will be hosting in the opening round. The national tournament field is made up of 33 automatic qualifiers and 15 at-large selections.
· Of the 18 Bulldogs who made up the 2024 national tournament roster, 13 return for action at the 2025 national tournament. The All-American Ashley Keck emerged from last season as an NAIA National Championship All-Tournament Team selection. Keck has appeared in each of Concordia’s past 10 national tournament matches (beginning in 2022). In her career at the national tournament, Keck has totaled 103 kills and 100 digs. Her career highs on the national stage are 18 kills and 24 digs (both achieved last season versus Bellevue).
· Many firsts have been accomplished under the Boldts’ leadership, including the program’s first time reaching the NAIA national quarterfinals and the first No. 1 national ranking (achieved in 2023). The Boldts took over prior to the start of the 2018 season and have proceeded to lead the Bulldogs to season-by-season win totals of 15, 25, 18, 19, 25, 25, 27 and 24, respectively. Ben Boldt enters the 2024 national tournament with an eight-year record of 178-54 (.767) at the helm of the program. Concordia has been included inside the top five of 24 consecutive NAIA coaches’ polls.
Program all-time national tournament matches
Seven previous appearances | 15-8 national tournament record | three-time national quarterfinalists
2015
Lost vs. Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), 3-0 (Opening Round)
2019
Won vs. No. 19 Montana Tech, 3-1 (Pool Play)
Won vs. Saint Mary (Kan.), 3-0 (Pool Play)
Lost vs. No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan, 3-2 (Pool Play)
Lost vs. No. 4 Missouri Baptist, 3-0 (Round of 16)
2020
Won at Xavier (La.), 3-1 (Opening Round)
Won vs. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), 3-2 (Pool Play)
Won vs. No. 7 Marian (Ind.), 3-1 (Pool Play)
Lost vs. No. 16 Dordt, 3-0 (Quarterfinals)
2021
Won vs. Ave Maria (Fla.), 3-0 (Opening Round)
Won vs. No. 25 Oregon Tech, 3-1 (Pool Play)
Won vs. No. 2 Viterbo (Wis.), 3-2 (Pool Play)
Lost vs. No. 7 Marian (Ind.), 3-2 (Quarterfinals)
2022
Won vs. Florida College, 3-0 (Opening Round)
Won vs. Hastings, 3-1 (Pool Play)
Lost vs. No. 13 Park (Mo.), 3-1 (Pool Play)
2023
Won vs. Judson (Ill.), 3-0 (Opening Round)
Won vs. No. 21 Montana Western, 3-0 (Pool Play)
Lost vs. No. 13 Midland, 3-0 (Pool Play)
2024
Won vs. Our Lady of the Lake (Texas), 3-0 (Opening Round)
Won vs. No. 21 The Master’s (Calif), 3-1 (Pool Play)
Won vs. No. 13 Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio), 3-0 (Pool Play)
Lost vs. No. 5 Bellevue, 3-2 (Quarterfinals)
The final site
The 24 opening round winners will advance to action at the final site, the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Final site volleyball starts with three days of pool play from Dec. 3-5. The top team from each pool will advance to the single elimination bracket, starting with the quarterfinals, on Saturday, Dec. 6. The semifinals will be played on Monday, Dec. 8, and the national champion will be crowned on Tuesday, Dec. 9. For more details on the national championship, visit the NAIA volleyball home page HERE. Pool play assignments will be announced on Sunday after all opening round contests have concluded.