NAIA Volleyball National Championship Info
SEWARD, Neb. – Concordia University Volleyball will be one of 24 teams that will descend upon the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, for the resumption of NAIA National Championship action. In a journey to the final site for the second straight season, the Bulldogs are readying to face Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) on April 27 and seventh-ranked Marian University (Ind.) on April 28. Only one of the three teams will advance to bracket play in the NAIA national quarterfinals on April 29.
NAIA Pool Play – Pool G
(10) Concordia (16-4) vs. Lindsey Wilson (22-3)
Tuesday, April 27 | 7 p.m. CDT
Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa
Webcast: NAIA Network
Live Stats: Dakstats
Radio: 104.9 Max Country (Frank Greene)
Buy Tickets: TysonEventsCenter.com (capacity capped at 20%)
(10) Concordia (16-4) vs. (7) Marian (17-4)
Wednesday, April 28 | 3:30 p.m. CDT
Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa
Webcast: NAIA Network
Live Stats: Dakstats
Radio: 104.9 Max Country (Frank Greene)
Buy Tickets: TysonEventsCenter.com (capacity capped at 20%)
By the numbers
· The NAIA Opening Round victory at Xavier University of New Orleans marked the third all-time national tournament win in Concordia program history. The Bulldogs dominated the first two sets before finding themselves in a battle that culminated in four sets (25-13, 25-14, 23-25, 25-20). Statistical leaders for the Bulldogs included Camryn Opfer (18 kills), Tara Callahan (45 assists), Marissa Hoerman (23 digs) and Gabi Nordaker (five blocks).
· The program’s previous trips to the national tournament occurred in 2015 and 2019. The 2015 appearance saw Concordia fall in straight sets at home to Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.). Then in 2019, the Bulldogs reached the final site and toppled No. 19 Montana Tech (four sets) and University of Saint Mary (Kan.) (three sets) before losses to No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan University (five sets) and No. 4 Missouri Baptist University (three sets). With the win over Xavier, Concordia is now 3-3 in national tournament matches over the three appearances.
· Opfer has taken her game to another level during the spring portion of the season. Over five spring matches, Opfer has compiled a team high 75 kills (18 sets) to go along with a .273 hitting percentage and 52 digs. Opfer has not dipped below 10 kills in any single match this spring and posted a career high 21 kills in the four-set win over Ottawa University (Kan.) on March 17. Four of her teammates have contributed at least 34 kills this spring: Kara Stark (56), Gabi Nordaker (42), Arleigh Costello (36) and Kalee Wiltfong (34).
· Ben Boldt is the first coach in program history to lead Concordia to back-to-back national tournament appearances. No volleyball team in school annals had ever reached the national round of 16 before 2019. In three seasons guiding the Bulldogs, Boldt owns an overall record of 56-24 (.737). His winning percentage is the highest for any head coach in program history with at least 50 wins.
· With the recent success has come a meteoric rise in the national rankings. In the five NAIA national polls released since the beginning of February, Concordia has appeared at No. 10 each time. That represents the highest national ranking in program history. After reaching the round of 16 in 2019, the Bulldogs landed at No. 14 in the postseason ranking. That poll position is the best end-of-season ranking in school history. For what it’s worth, Massey Ratings shows Concordia as the No. 3 team in the NAIA as of this moment.
The opponents
Lindsey Wilson swept Mid-South Conference regular season and tournament titles and is making the program’s 10th all-time appearance at the national tournament. The Blue Raiders took to the road in the NAIA Opening Round and toppled No. 22 Cornerstone University (Mich.) in straight sets. Lindsey Wilson has been an NAIA volleyball power having won the national title in 2017. Head Coach Jerry Forbes began his tenure with the start of the 2019 campaign and led the Blue Raiders to the national round of 16. On the NAIA national leaderboard, Lindsey Wilson ranks 12th in hitting percentage (.237), 22nd in kills per set (13.17), 26th in digs per set (18.85) and 37th in blocks per set (2.10). The Blue Raiders earned three major Mid-South postseason honors via Camryn Rich (Setter of the Year), Radiasy Valdez (Freshman of the Year) and Forbes (Coach of the Year).
Marian earned a bid to nationals as the Crossroads League tournament runner up and has made its way to nationals for the fourth time in program history. The Knights are the defending NAIA national champions after having gone an impressive 38-2 overall in 2019. Head Coach Ashlee Pritchard (2019 NAIA Coach of the Year) is in her ninth season leading Marian. Pritchard’s squad dominated Bryan (Tenn.) in the NAIA Opening Round in a straight sets decision (25-12, 25-12, 25-22). The Knights are led by Crossroads League Player of the Year Skyler Van Note (also the 2019 NAIA national tournament MVP), who thundered down 20 kills in last season’s national championship match. Marian is a powerful offensive team that sports NAIA national rankings of first in kills per set (14.67) and fourth in hitting percentage (.261). The 6-foot Van Note has collected 1,111 kills in her collegiate career.
Bracket play
The winner from each of the eight pools will advance to bracket play. The NAIA quarterfinals will take place on April 29. It’s possible that tiebreaker sets may be necessary in order to determine pool winners. For information on tiebreaker procedures, see page 9 of the PDF linked HERE. Tiebreaker sets will be played in the event that all three teams in a pool each finish 1-1.
The national semifinals will take place on April 30 with the championship match slated for May 1.