Head Coach: Ben Boldt (154-51, 8th season)
2024 Record: 25-4 overall, 14-2 GPAC (T-1st); NAIA national qualifier
Key Returners: MB Ava Greene; OH Ashley Keck; RS Addie Kirkegaard; S Lily Psencik; OH Kya Scott; S Savannah Shelburne; OH Ella Waters.
Key Losses: DS Becca Gebhardt; DS Cassidy Knust; MB Gabi Nordaker; DS Ashlyn Wischmeier.
2024 NAIA All-America: Ashley Keck (First Team); Gabi Nordaker (Second Team).
2024 GPAC All-Conference: Ashley Keck (Attacker of the Year; First Team); Gabi Nordaker (First Team); Ella Waters (First Team); Addie Kirkegaard (Second Team); Becca Gebhardt (Honorable Mention); Savannah Shelburne (Honorable Mention).
Outlook
Big matches and big moments are part of the deal when you sign up to play for the Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball program. Under the Boldts, coaches Ben and Angie, the Bulldogs have achieved remarkable consistency as they carry active streaks of six-straight trips to the NAIA national championship final site and four-consecutive GPAC championship match appearances into another season of mega expectations. Though a high standard has been set in recent years, the 2025 team is dreaming about doing things no Concordia volleyball teams before them have ever accomplished.
“Let it rip!” (Please, no jokes). That’s the message Head Coach Ben Boldt has for his team one year removed from the program’s third NAIA national quarterfinal appearance (all coming over the past five years). The Bulldogs are preparing to embrace the tension-filled moments when the lights are at their brightest.
“I want to go for it,” Ben Boldt said. “When I think of that theme, it presents itself in clutch moments – tough after 20 points in a set, tough after 10 points in the fifth set. I don’t want to play it safe. I don’t want to tip in those moments. I want to go for it. I want to let it rip. Along with that, it’s zero judgement. Let’s say we really go for it and just miss – zero judgement in that. We want you to go for it. We also want to have purpose. We can’t just have no purpose while we’re out there. We have to be intentional about what we do. Playing into those two things is really what makes up the ‘let it rip’ theme for us this year.”
The calendar won’t fast forward to late November, but the Boldts have always had teams that understand what it takes to navigate the rigors of the months of August, September and October. No doubt, the Bulldogs possess the personnel to handle the challenges that come their way. They return First Team All-American outside hitter Ashley Keck, as well as fellow First Team All-GPAC honoree in pin hitter Ella Waters, in addition to two other 2024 all-conference honorees in right side Addie Kirkegaard and setter Savannah Shelburne. Collectively, they helped the ’24 team to a 27-4 overall record (15-1 GPAC).
The losses the past three seasons (experienced by the large class of 10 seniors) have been few and far between. The combined record over that time is 77-14. But there are certain defeats that linger and fuel motivation for 2025. There have been back-to-back five-set GPAC championship match defeats at Northwestern and last year’s five-set heartbreaker at the hands of Bellevue (2024 NAIA national runner up) in the NAIA quarters. Concordia knows it can play with anyone, as evidenced by last season’s nonconference victory over No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan, the eventual national champion, and those epic GPAC battles with the likes of Northwestern and Midland.
Without question, another lofty preseason ranking is coming for the Bulldogs. Says Keck, one of the best players in the entire NAIA in 2024, “It’s a really good starting point to have, but we can’t dip in any sort of way. We know we can grow every single day. We haven’t reached the national championship and GPAC championship that we want. I think the focus this preseason is on where we can grow in the little ways that can hopefully get us to those goals this year.”
Boldt believes the ’25 team will be another balanced one in terms of what it does well on the court. From an offensive perspective, Concordia expects to rank among the national leaders in categories such as kills per set and hitting percentage. It’s been a hallmark of the program. In what will likely be a 6-2 system as it was in 2024, the Bulldogs will roll out five returners who notched more than 100 kills last season: Keck (379), Waters (293), Kirkegaard (237), Kya Scott (227) and Ava Greene (109).
Keck may own the most accolades, but Concordia is no one-person show. Says Boldt, “We take pride in not having one person – where everyone can say, that’s where the ball is going. When we’re in clutch moments, I want to be able to spread everything out and rely on what’s our best situation and what’s our best matchup. That person can put the ball away.”
The only missing piece of firepower from last season is three-time All-American Gabi Nordaker, who played five stellar seasons with the Bulldogs. Even with that loss, the Bulldogs are well-stocked both on the pins and in the middle. When her opportunity arose, junior Ava Greene took it and ran with it. She figures to be a prominent figure at middle blocker along with the likes of Molli Martin and Maddie Paulsen.
In her first season of competition at Concordia, Waters made a major impact with her contributions (.295 hitting percentage), including a 17-kill performance in the win over No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan. The Bulldogs can go big with the 6-foot-3 Waters and 6-foot-2 Kirkegaard, and they can also get production from the 5-foot-7 Scott, who plays bigger than her frame.
At setter, seniors Savannah Shelburne and Lily Psencik are back in the fold. They shared setter duties last season, filling the shoes left behind by former All-American Bree Burtwistle. Together, Shelburne and Psencik facilitated a powerful attack that ranked fourth nationally in kills per set (14.16). The roster includes seven total setters.
The back row is where Bulldog fans will see the most significant change. Concordia graduated libero Becca Gebhardt and fellow defensive specialist Cassidy Knust. The time is now for sophomore Shandy Faalii, who gained experience as a freshman in 2024. She’ll be joined by other returners such as Clara Evert and Kate Griess. The competition for playing time will continue to unfold through preseason training. Those who are adept at serving will also play a role. There are four returning players who notched at least 15 aces last season (including setters): Shelburne (33), Psencik (22), Griess (19) and Faalii (15). The DS position also could receive a boost from the freshman class.
“We love our ‘bro group,’” Boldt said. “We lost a lot from the graduating class last year. We’re obviously going to look different. I’m not going to say it’s our super strength because our team is very balanced all the way across the board, but I love the people we have in the back row. They’re flying around back there. They’re confident. They’re using their voices. We’re super fired up to see what it ends up looking like.”
With a slight window between preseason report date (Aug. 5) and the first official match (Aug. 16), Concordia is attempting to maximize every day it has while working to define the identity of the 2025 team. Following the season opener at home, the Bulldogs will find themselves challenged by early barometers with the Power Quad (Aug. 21-22) hosted by Indiana Wesleyan and the College of Saint Mary Labor Day Classic (Aug. 29-30) making up the early season slate.
In the leadup to conference play, the Boldts will be watching closely to see how their players react in those defining moments when the outcome of a set is on the line.
Says Keck, “Let it rip came from the coaches and their focus for us this year. What it means to me, and what we’re trying to make it be as a team, is to let it rip now and make mistakes now so that when we get to these big moments – nationals and GPAC championship – we can truly let it rip without the fear of not executing a play. Just go for it. If you don’t execute a play, we don’t care. Just move on from it.”
There’s plenty of pride in what has taken place over recent seasons, but there’s also the desire for something more. Yes, they do talk about the ultimate goal.
“We talk about it,” Ben Boldt said. “We use it. A lot of times it’s in conditioning drills or something like that. We talk about the GPAC championship. We shared a regular season crown two years ago. Whether or not we win it, we’re not going to live and die on that, but that is something that we use. It’s a motivator for us. We want to approach practice, and we want to approach off-the-court stuff at a GPAC championship level. We have a saying that champions behave like champions before they become champions. If we want to call ourselves champions at the end of the year, we have to embrace those championship behaviors at the beginning of the year. We have a standing goal in our program, ever since we’ve gotten here, of GPAC championship and national championship. When our team wraps their head around that every year, that’s going to be something that they’re motivated by.”
The 2025 season will officially get started on Aug. 16 when the Bulldogs welcome York University to Friedrich Arena. The complete varsity and junior varsity schedules can be found HERE.