SEWARD, Neb. – The path to a GPAC regular season title got a bit cloudier, but Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball remains in a strong position nationally. The second-ranked Bulldogs bounced back quickly from their first conference defeat of the season as part of a jampacked homecoming weekend. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad stands at 16-2 overall (9-1 GPAC) heading into two road trips this week. A return to a Wednesday-Saturday schedule configuration will have Concordia headed to Hastings and Dakota Wesleyan.
This Week
Wednesday, Oct. 15 at Hastings (5-15, 2-8 GPAC), 7:30 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Lynn Farrell Arena (Hastings, Neb.)
Saturday, Oct. 18 at Dakota Wesleyan (12-8, 6-4 GPAC), 3 p.m.
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Christen Athletic Center (Mitchell, S.D.)
By the numbers
· In the middle of last week, the NAIA released its first official RPI and ARC ratings of the 2025 season. In the RPI, the Bulldogs landed at No. 3 behind only Eastern Oregon University and Corban University (Ore.). Concordia also sat atop the Midwest region in the ARC ratings. Other No. 1 teams by region are Cumberlands (Ky.) in the East, Indiana Wesleyan in the North, Texas Wesleyan in the South and Eastern Oregon in the West. A new NAIA coaches’ poll is slated to be announced on Wednesday. The Bulldogs have held down the No. 2 spot in the poll since Sept. 3 and have been included inside the top five in 21 consecutive NAIA coaches’ polls.
· The largest Friedrich Arena crowd yet this season gathered for the showdown between No. 2 Concordia and No. 7 Northwestern on Oct. 10. The Red Raiders spoiled the party and won, 25-9, 16-25, 25-14, 25-21, behind a match-high 22 kills from outside hitter Stella Winterfeld. Northwestern got the better of the Bulldogs in the serve and pass facets of the game and outhit them, .250 to .122. The Red Raiders’ hitting percentage was by far the highest this season for any Concordia GPAC opponent. The Bulldogs were able to quickly put behind the loss with a straight-sets victory over Waldorf, 25-23, 25-8, 25-17, the next day. Concordia hit a sizzling .359 and doubled the Warriors up, 48-24, in the kill department. The Bulldogs’ top five attackers all hit better than .350: Ella Waters (.615), Ava Greene (.571), Molli Martin (.500), Ashley Keck (.361) and Kya Scott (.353). Individual statistical leaders for the weekend at home were Keck in kills (24), Lily Psencik in assists (47) and aces (three, tied with Shandy Faalii), Emma Brueggemann in digs (34) and Martin in blocks (eight).
· Dating back to last season, Concordia had won 18 straight GPAC regular season matches until running into Northwestern. The Red Raiders were out to prove they remain the top team in the conference. Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch’s program has now won each of its last 41 matches against GPAC opponents (including postseason). Since the start of the 2024 season, Northwestern is the only GPAC team to defeat the Bulldogs. Concordia will need some help now in order to have a shot at winning or sharing the GPAC regular season title. The Red Raiders’ remaining league schedule includes home versus Mount Marty, home versus Dordt, at Dakota Wesleyan, home versus Briar Cliff, at Morningside and home versus Waldorf.
· The All-American Ashley Keck reached the 1,000-kill milestone in match No. 2 of this season. This past Friday, she also hit the 1,000-dig mark for her career. Keck is just the fifth player in program history to notch both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs for a career. The others to accomplish the feat are Becky Ernstmeyer (1,740 kills / 2,235 digs), Camryn Opfer (1,561 kills / 1,671 digs), Renae Beikmann (1,223 kills / 1,187 digs) and Darcy Lindner (1,204 kills / 1,187 digs). In 108 career matches, Keck has amassed 1,231 kills, 1,024 digs and 100 blocks. Keck ranks seventh on the program’s all-time kills list.
· The defensive efforts of Concordia have been particularly noteworthy this season. The Bulldogs have held their opponents to an .097 hitting percentage and to an average of 10.52 kills per set. From an offensive perspective, they hope the .359 hitting percentage was a sign of things to come. It marked the only the third time that Concordia has hit better than .300 this season. It also hit .324 versus Ottawa University (Kan.) and .309 versus College of Saint Mary. Nationally, the Bulldogs rank 20th in kills per set (13.18) and 49th in hitting percentage (.197).
· As just a freshman, Emma Brueggemann is quickly establishing herself as one of the GPAC’s best liberos. She added 34 digs to her total last week while continuing to lead the back row. The Hebron, Neb., native ranks near the top of the conference in digs per set while currently situated at No. 3 (5.15), just behind Dakota Wesleyan’s Lizzie Tyler (5.23) and Briar Cliff’s Avery Beller (5.21). Brueggemann is a major reason why Concordia ranks 10th nationally in digs per set (18.70).
· Among GPAC teams, Concordia ranks first in kills per set (13.18), second in digs per set (18.70), third in hitting percentage (.197) and third in blocks per set (2.47). 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 opponents
The losses have piled up for Hastings, but it did put an end to a seven-match skid this past weekend by toppling Dordt at home in straight sets. The Broncos stand at 5-15 overall (2-8 GPAC) after finishing 2024 at 15-12 (8-8 GPAC). The program underwent an offseason coaching change with John Schmidt stepping into the head coaching role after most recently serving the same position at NCAA Division II University of West Alabama. Hastings returned two 2024 Second Team All-GPAC players in middle blocker Mikah O’Neill and setter Alexis Pontine. In addition to their win over Dordt, the Broncos also defeated Doane in Crete in four sets back on Sept. 10. On the season, Hastings is hitting .137 with an average of 12.03 kills per set while their opponents are hitting .198 with 12.15 kills per set. Concordia carries an 11-match series win streak over the Broncos into Wednesday’s meeting.
Dakota Wesleyan cracked the NAIA top 25 at No. 24 on Sept. 17 and continued to receive votes in the poll release on Oct. 1. The Tigers enjoyed their stay in Nebraska this past weekend as they defeated both Doane and Hastings in sweeps. The DWU roster features 2024 GPAC Setter of the Year Kayleigh Hybertson and returning Second Team All-GPAC libero Lizzie Tyler. The program’s all-time winningest coach, Lindsay Wilber has her team off to a 12-8 start (6-4 GPAC) after finishing last season at 13-16 (7-9 GPAC). Wilber took the program to the national tournament in both 2021 and 2022. The current Tiger team leads the GPAC in digs per set (18.97) behind Tyler. DWU is hitting .182 and is averaging 11.81 kills per set while opponents are hitting .152 with 13.22 kills per set. The Bulldogs have won each of the past four matches with the Tigers, including the 2023 and 2024 GPAC quarterfinals.
Next week
The Bulldogs will return to Friedrich Arena on Oct. 22 to host Mount Marty. Next week will finish with a short trip to College of Saint Mary on Oct. 25.