SEWARD, Neb. – A pair of NAIA top 20 teams will meet up on Saturday. Both teams will have a mid-week bye as the fourth-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball team and No. 19 Midland prepare to face off at the Wikert Event Center in Fremont, Neb. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad improved to 20-2 (13-1 GPAC) after last week’s wins over Mount Marty and College of Saint Mary. The Bulldogs are situated in second place in the league standings while the Warriors reside in third place. Concordia will go for a season sweep of Midland having beaten the Warriors in four sets on Sept. 17.
This Week
Saturday, Oct. 25 at No. 19 Midland (16-8, 11-3 GPAC), 5 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Wikert Event Center (Fremont, Neb.)
By the numbers
· A new NAIA coaches’ poll is hot off the presses as of Wednesday (Oct. 29) morning. The Bulldogs checked in at No. 4 for the second poll in a row, extending the program’s string of consecutive NAIA top five rankings to 23. Worth noting, there is a new No. 1 as University of Providence (Mont.) leapfrogged Eastern Oregon University and moved to the top spot. No. 2 Eastern Oregon was followed in the poll by Northwestern at No. 3. Based on the current top 25, Concordia has defeated four ranked teams: No. 8 Indiana Wesleyan University, No. 16 Viterbo University (Wis.), No. 19 Midland and No. 25 MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.). This season’s only two defeats have come against top three foes. In the most recent NAIA RPI (released on Oct. 19), the Bulldogs appeared at No. 5. Concordia is ranked No. 3 in the NAIA’s official Midwest ARC rankings.
· The Bulldogs have dropped only one set over their past five outings. They put together another strong week while defeating Mount Marty, 25-20, 25-20, 25-23, at home and College of Saint Mary, 25-15, 25-17, 19-25, 25-22, on the road. Both matches featured a pink out in support of breast cancer awareness. Concordia owned significant statistical advantages over those two foes: .238 to .118 in hitting percentage, 98-77 in kills, 127-110 in digs and 15-12 in blocks (aces were even at 12 apiece). Individual statistical leaders last week by category were Ashley Keck in kills (28), aces (five) and digs (42), Savannah Shelburne in assists (51) and Ella Waters in blocks (eight). It was also a fine week on the attack for Waters, who hit .457 from the right side and added 25 kills. In the middle, Molli Martin notched 10 kills on 12 swings in the win over Mount Marty. The Bulldogs earned season sweeps over both opponents.
· The Concordia attack appears to be rounding into form at the right time. On the pins, Ashley Keck and Ella Waters are proving to be a handful for the opposition. Keck continues to lead the GPAC in kills per set (3.99) while padding her career totals. In 112 career matches, Keck has tallied 1,282 kills, 1,102 digs and 101 blocks. Meanwhile, Waters has been on a tear. She equaled a career high with 18 kills in the win at College of Saint Mary. Over the past six matches, Waters has racked up 60 kills (on 116 attempts) while hitting .414. Since transferring from NCAA Division II Washburn University, Waters has played in 52 matches and has compiled 480 kills. She was named a 2024 First Team All-GPAC selection along with Keck.
· Concordia finished 2024 at 15-1 in league play and now aspires to do the same thing in 2025. As a program, the Bulldogs have won 23 of their past 24 GPAC regular season matches. Once again, they find themselves trailing Northwestern (22-3, 13-0 GPAC) at the top of the standings. The Red Raiders own an impressive streak of 44 straight wins (including postseason) against GPAC opponents. This past week, Northwestern defeated Dordt (home) and Dakota Wesleyan (away) in straight sets. The remaining GPAC schedule for the Red Raiders includes Briar Cliff (home), Morningside (away) and Waldorf (home). Northwestern is chasing a second 16-0 GPAC season in a row.
· The defensive efforts of Concordia have been particularly noteworthy this season. The Bulldogs have held their opponents to an .094 hitting percentage and to an average of 10.42 kills per set. This past week, Mount Marty hit .076 and College of Saint Mary hit .150. Concordia has limited foes to hitting percentages below .100 in nine of its 14 GPAC matches this season. Freshman Emma Brueggemann immediately stepped into the libero role and ranks third among GPAC players in digs per set (5.26). Nationally, the Bulldogs rank eighth in digs per set (18.95) and seventh in blocks per set (2.49).
· Head Coach Ben Boldt’s eight-year record at Concordia now stands at 174-53 for a .767 winning percentage (the highest of any coach in program history). From an overall wins perspective, Boldt trails only Berniece Jones (181-200) in program history. Jones coached during the 1976 through 1988 seasons. Also noteworthy, the current class of fourth-year seniors have contributed to a combined record of 97-16 since the start of the 2022 season. The .858 win percentage over that time is the highest of any four-year period in program history. Boldt has also led the program to at least 20 wins in five separate seasons.
· Among GPAC teams, Concordia ranks first in kills per set (13.38), second in digs per set (18.95), second in hitting percentage (.206) and third in blocks per set (2.49). The Bulldogs are the only team in the GPAC to rank in the top three of the conference in each of those four statistical categories.
The opponent
Like Concordia, Midland has no mid-week match as the two sides prepare to tangle in Fremont on Saturday. It’s year one of a new era for Warrior volleyball with Micah Rhodes in his first season as head coach. Highly successful coach Paul Giesselmann announced his retirement after the 2024 season. A two-year assistant under Giesselmann, Rhodes is tasked with continuing a strong tradition. Midland has qualified for the national tournament in 11 of the past 12 seasons with a national runner-up claim coming in 2020. The Warriors stand in strong position in regard to qualifying for the national tournament once again. Their only league losses have come against Concordia, Northwestern and Dordt. Last season’s GPAC Freshman of the Year, Brooklynn Snyder paces the team with 357 kills (.239 hitting percentage). As a team, Midland is hitting .204 with an average of 12.99 kills per set while their opponents are hitting .163 with 11.40 kills per set. The Bulldogs have won each of the past four meetings with the Warriors.
Next week
The regular season will conclude on Tuesday, Nov. 4 when Doane makes a visit to Friedrich Arena. The GPAC tournament will get started with the quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 8.