NAIA Pool Play Release | NAIA National Championship Bracket
SEWARD, Neb. – The NAIA Volleyball National Championship field has been trimmed to 24 teams following Saturday (Nov. 22)’s opening round action. As the NAIA’s No. 3 overall team and top seed in Pool C of the national tournament, Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball has drawn Dakota Wesleyan and The Master’s University (Calif.) as pool play opponents. Pool play will get underway on Wednesday, Dec. 3 from the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. The Tyson Events Center will stage the national championship event for the 18th straight year. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s program will make its seventh consecutive appearance at the final site.
NAIA Pool C
--Full Pool Play Schedule | NOTE: There are eight pools with three teams included in each pool.
(3) Concordia (25-3) vs. (22) Dakota Wesleyan (19-11)
Wednesday, Dec. 3 | 7:30 p.m. CST
Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa (Court 1)
Webcast: NAIA Network
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Radio: 104.9 Max Country (Parker Cyza)
Buy Tickets: TysonEventsCenter.com
(3) Concordia (25-3) vs. (14) The Master’s (24-3)
Friday, Dec. 5 | 6:30 p.m. CST
Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa (Court 2)
Webcast: NAIA Network
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Radio: 104.9 Max Country (Parker Cyza)
Buy Tickets: TysonEventsCenter.com
By the numbers
· For a fifth straight year, the Bulldogs earned the right to host in the opening round of the NAIA National Championship. In the latest opening round win, Concordia defeated Florida National University, 25-17, 25-15, 25-10, on Nov. 22. The Bulldogs outhit the Conquistadors, .350 to .010. The kills leaders for Concordia were Ashley Keck (10), Kya Scott (nine), Maddie Paulsen (seven), Molli Martin (six) and Ella Waters (six). Libero Emma Brueggemann starred in the back row with 18 digs and Ava Greene led the blocking efforts (11-2 team advantage) with four denials. Florida National (17-19) made its second all-time appearance at the national tournament.
· The Bulldogs are officially in the midst of their eighth all-time national tournament appearance. Each of the program’s 16 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 and 2024. All-American middle blocker Gabi Nordaker (now a graduate assistant at former GPAC member Jamestown) was a key figure on each of the 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).
· Concordia statistical leaders by category this season are Ashley Keck in kills (401) and digs (413), Lily Psencik in assists (503), Shandy Faalii in aces (28) and Ava Greene in blocks (121). In addition to Keck, four other Bulldogs have tallied at least 140 kills: Ella Waters (247), Molli Martin (166), Kya Scott (143) and Greene (142). For her work this season, Keck was named the GPAC Attacker of the Year (for the second time). Keck was joined on the GPAC All-Conference first team by Greene and Waters. Emma Brueggemann landed on the second team and was voted GPAC Freshman of the Year. Additionally, Martin was tabbed second team and honorable mention status went to Faalii and Scott. Angie Boldt was honored as the GPAC AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year.
· All four GPAC teams that played in the NAIA Opening Round have advanced to the final site. Sweeps were earned by No. 2 Northwestern over Saint Xavier University (Ill.), No. 3 Concordia over Florida National and No. 17 Midland over Grand View University (Iowa). In an upset based on seeding, Dakota Wesleyan upended No. 23 Park University (Mo.) in five sets. The most recent GPAC team to win the NAIA volleyball national championship was Jamestown (now NCAA Division II) in 2022. Hastings was the national champion in 2016.
· Keck and company are battle-tested on the national stage. Keck emerged from last season as an NAIA National Championship All-Tournament Team selection. Keck has appeared in each of Concordia’s past 11 national tournament matches (beginning in 2022). In her career at the national tournament, Keck has totaled 113 kills and 111 digs. Her career highs on the national stage are 18 kills and 24 digs (both achieved last season versus Bellevue). Of the current Bulldogs, three were part of the national tournament roster going back to 2022: Keck, Addie Kirkegaard and Savannah Shelburne. Meanwhile, this is the third national tournament appearance for the likes of Ava Greene, Molli Martin, Lily Psencik and Kya Scott.
· 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). For the Bulldogs to break new ground in 2025, in terms of national tournament advancement, they will need to reach at least the national semifinal round.
· 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.). Indiana Wesleyan is the top seed in Pool D and will attempt to defend its back-to-back NAIA national titles (2023 and 2024).
The opponents
(14) The Master’s (24-3) – The Mustangs have been placed in the same pool as Concordia for a second year in a row. Last season’s pool play matchup was won by the Bulldogs, 25-19, 25-11, 24-26, 25-21. McKenna Hafner has taken The Master’s to the final site in her first season as head coach. She joined the staff as an assistant in 2022. As a program, the Mustangs qualified for nationals for the sixth time in program history. The Master’s reached this point in 2025 despite returning NAIA Second Team All-American Grace Colburn having played in only four matches this season. Bella Amet emerged as the Great Southwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year. She enters the final site with 303 kills (3.44 per set) and a .247 hitting percentage from the outside. With Amet leading the way, the Mustangs swept GSAC regular season and postseason championships. The Master’s defeated Texas A&M Texarkana in the opening round. The program’s all-time record at the national tournament is 7-9.
(22) Dakota Wesleyan (19-11) – Dakota Wesleyan went on the road in the opening round and edged No. 23 Park University (Mo.), 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 19-25, 15-8. Head Coach Lindsay Wilber has led the program to the national tournament for the third time in five years. The Tigers lean upon the likes of First Team All-GPAC players in setter Kayleigh Hybertson (GPAC Setter of the Year) and libero Lizzie Tyler (5.74 digs per set). A fourth-place finisher in the GPAC standings, Dakota Wesleyan qualified for the national tournament as an at-large selection. The opening round result at Park pushed the Tigers’ all-time national tournament record to 6-6 in four appearances. In the one 2025 regular season meeting, Concordia won at DWU, 25-15, 25-22, 25-17, on Oct. 18. The Tigers are paced in the kill department by Evy Knoblock, who averages 3.30 kills per set. DWU averages 11.92 kills per set and sports a .178 hitting percentage. The Tigers rank No. 3 nationally in digs per set (20.06).
Bracket play
The winners from each of the eight pools will advance to bracket play on Dec. 6, which begins with the NAIA national quarterfinals. The semifinals will follow on Dec. 8 with the national championship match taking place on Dec. 9. All matches will be played at the Tyson Events Center.
Concordia National Tournament History
Eight appearances | 16-8 national tournament record | three-time national quarterfinalists
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