SEWARD, Neb. – For the third year in a row, the Concordia University Volleyball program will make its way to the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, final site of the NAIA National Championship. Action in Sioux City will begin with two days of pool play before shifting into bracket play with the remaining eight teams. The Bulldogs were placed in Pool B alongside No. 2 Viterbo University (Wis.) and No. 25 Oregon Tech. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s program emerged as the champion of Pool G in last season's run to the national quarterfinals.
NAIA Pool B
(19) Concordia (17-11) vs. (25) Oregon Tech (24-6)
Tuesday, Nov. 30 | 3 p.m. CST
Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa (Court 2)
Webcast: NAIA Network
Live Stats: Presto Stats
Radio: 104.9 Max Country (Frank Greene)
Buy Tickets: TysonEventsCenter.com
(19) Concordia (17-11) vs. (2) Viterbo (38-1)
Wednesday, Dec. 1 | 10:30 a.m. CST
Tyson Events Center | Sioux City, Iowa (Court 3)
Webcast: NAIA Network
Live Stats: Presto Stats
Radio: 104.9 Max Country (Frank Greene)
Buy Tickets: TysonEventsCenter.com
By the numbers
· The 2021 team managed to accomplish a first in the history of the program – win a home match in the opening round of the NAIA Volleyball National Championship. Previously, the 2019 squad was sent straight to the final site under a different national tournament format while the 2020 edition went on the road and defeated Xavier University of Louisiana in four sets as part of the opening round. Concordia has now improved its all-time national tournament record to 6-4 with each of the six wins occurring within the past three seasons. The 2015 squad was the first team in program history to qualify for the national tournament.
· The Bulldogs remain one of 24 teams left standing in the NAIA thanks to their straight sets win over Ave Maria University (Fla.) in the opening round. Concordia outhit the Gyrenes, .308 to .111, and held advantages in kills, 48-33, digs, 50-40, and aces, 4-1. On the attack, Arleigh Costello and Carly Rodaway led the way with 11 kills apiece from the right side. Meanwhile, Camryn Opfer totaled nine kills and 12 digs and Gabi Nordaker added eight kills and four blocks. The setter combo of Tara Callahan (27 assists) and Bree Burtwistle (17 assists) combined for 44 assists.
· Concordia’s statistical leaders this season are Camryn Opfer in kills (344) and digs (333), Tara Callahan in assists (1,043), Gabi Nordaker in hitting percentage (.362) and blocks (103) and Kennedy VanScoy in aces (28). Callahan has pushed her career assist total to 4,702 (program record during the modern era of rally scoring). Meanwhile, Opfer’s 898 career kills rank as the most among active Bulldogs (and are the 13th most in school history). Four other Concordia hitters have at least 100 kills in 2021: Nordaker (312), Erica Heinzerling (240), Carly Rodaway (160), Kalee Wiltfong (131) and Arleigh Costello (102).
· The GPAC cleaned up in the opening round of the national tournament. Each of the seven national qualifiers from the GPAC protected their home courts with six of them triumphing in three sets. Based on last season’s results, all seven could be serious threats in pool play. The 2020 national quarterfinals showcased five GPAC squads, including the Bulldogs. The conference will be aiming for its first NAIA volleyball national championship since Hastings seized the red banner in 2016. The Broncos were the first GPAC team to ever win the volleyball national title.
· By way of making it to the final site, Concordia will likely finish within the NAIA top 25 poll for the third-straight season. The Bulldogs have appeared inside the top 25 in 16 of the past 18 coaches’ polls (also received votes when not appearing in the top 25). During that stretch, Concordia rose as high as No. 6, which marked the highest ranking in the history of the program. The Bulldogs finished the previous two seasons with postseason national rankings of 14th in 2019 and eighth in 2020. The ’20 team reached the NAIA national quarterfinals, marking the deepest national run ever for the program.
The opponents
A member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, Oregon Tech earned an at-large berth to the national tournament and was rewarded with the opportunity to host in the opening round. The Owls seized the moment and defeated Westmont College (Calif.) in straight sets. This marks Oregon Tech’s first ever national tournament appearance. Head Coach Ken Murczek, now in his second season, has quickly elevated the program, which went 12-6 in 2020. Nationally, the Owls rank 20th in hitting percentage (.237) and 23rd in aces per set (2.05). Outside hitter Kaylin Talonen paces the team with 313 kills (.258 hitting percentage) on the year.
Champion of the North Star Athletic Association, Viterbo has been a regular at the national tournament and is making the program’s ninth all-time appearance on the national stage. The V-Hawks have won 31 matches in a row since falling at home in four sets to Midland way back on Aug. 28. Head Coach Ryan DeLong’s squad sports national ranks of fourth in kills per set (14.44), seventh in hitting percentage (.272) and 15th in blocks per set (2.36). Middle Hitter Miah Grant was selected as the NSAA’s Player of the Year. She has totaled 348 kills and 165 blocks while hitting .392. Viterbo owns wins this season over three GPAC teams: College of Saint Mary, Dordt and Northwestern.
Bracket play
The winners from each of the eight pools will advance to bracket play on Dec. 2 and play in the NAIA national quarterfinals. The semifinals will follow on Dec. 3 with the national championship match taking place on Dec. 4. All matches will be played at the Tyson Events Center.