SEWARD, Neb. – Before hosting in the quarterfinals of the GPAC tournament, the 17th-ranked Concordia University volleyball team will take its shot at undefeated and top-ranked Northwestern in Orange City, Iowa, on Wednesday night. Head coach Ben Boldt’s squad already locked itself into the No. 3 slot in the conference tournament with Sunday’s four-set home win over Dakota Wesleyan. While a GPAC regular-season title is out of reach, a victory over the Red Raiders would make quite a statement.
This Week
Wednesday, Nov. 6 at (1) Northwestern (27-0, 15-0 GPAC), 7:30 p.m.
--Live Webcast/Stats
Saturday, Nov. 9 vs. TBD (GPAC Quarterfinals), 7 p.m.
--Live Webcast/Stats | Radio coverage provided by 104.9 Max Country
--Admission for GPAC postseason events is $10 for adults, $3 for students K-12th grade and free for GPAC students who present their college ID.
Boldt’s bunch just missed out on another potential signature victory last week when it hosted eighth-ranked Jamestown. After dropping the opening set, the Bulldogs (22-4, 11-4 GPAC) rebounded by taking the next two. They were eventually beaten in five sets despite quality performances from sophomore Arleigh Costello (13 kills, .346) and junior Marissa Hoerman (25 digs). A win would have given Concordia the inside track on second place in the conference and may have pushed it inside the NAIA top 10.
The Bulldogs have remained at No. 17 in the national rankings while a fresh poll has not been released since Oct. 23. Based on the results around it, Concordia may wind up in roughly the same position when the NAIA unveils a new poll on Wednesday (Massey Ratings has it at No. 7 in the NAIA). The Bulldogs picked up a win they had to have on Sunday when they topped Dakota Wesleyan in four sets with the help of a career high 19 kills from freshman Kalee Wiltfong. Tara Callahan piled up 42 assists.
No matter what happens the remainder of the season, it’s been a remarkable turnaround for the program since it went 9-19 in 2017. The team’s current win percentage of .846 is the program’s best during the entire GPAC era. Now the hope is to secure the first NAIA national tournament bid since 2015. That particular squad garnered an at-large berth after being ranked 16th in the final NAIA poll of the regular season. The ’15 team is the only one in program history to qualify for nationals, although the 2000 Bulldogs shared the conference regular-season title in the first year of the GPAC.
Northwestern has been a more regular participant in the national tournament. The Red Raiders (27-0, 15-0 GPAC) have reached that stage nine times since 2006. The results thus far seem to indicate that head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch has his most serious national title contender yet. On the national leaderboard, undefeated Northwestern ranks first in hitting percentage (.313), third in kills per set (14.1) and 17th in blocks per set (2.3). Outside hitter Anna Wedel has been lethal. She averages 4.19 kills per set and is hitting .341. The Red Raiders have been taken to a fifth set three times this season.
Regardless of the outcome in Orange City, Concordia will be at home on Saturday in the postseason to host an opponent to be determined. As the No. 3 seed, the Bulldogs could play either College of Saint Mary, Doane or Morningside. First serve will be at 7 p.m. CT from Walz Arena. The winner on Saturday will advance to the GPAC semifinals, which will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 13.