Head Coach: Ben Boldt (182-55, 9th season); seven NAIA national tournaments; one GPAC title.
2025 Record: 28-4 overall, 15-1 GPAC (2nd); NAIA National Semifinalist
Key Returners: DS Emma Brueggemann; OH Shandy Faalii; MB Ava Greene (will miss ’26 season due to injury); MB/RS Maddie Paulsen.
Key Losses: OH Ashley Keck; RS Addie Kirkegaard; MB Molli Martin; S Lily Psencik; OH Kya Scott; S Savannah Shelburne; OH Ella Waters.
2025 NAIA All-Americans: Ashley Keck (First Team); Ella Waters (Second Team); Ava Greene (Honorable Mention).
2025 GPAC All-Conference: Ashley Keck (GPAC Attacker of the Year; First Team); Ava Greene (First Team); Ella Waters (First Team); Emma Brueggemann (GPAC Freshman of the Year; Second Team); Molli Martin (Second Team); Shandy Faalii (Honorable Mention); Kya Scott (Honorable Mention); Angie Boldt (Assistant Coach of the Year).
Outlook
Heading into year nine leading the program, coaches Ben and Angie Boldt are running back a mantra they emphasized in 2018: “champs before champs.” The idea is that champions behave like champions before becoming champions. The motto signals a reset of sorts for a 2026 squad that features 20 players who are either freshmen or sophomores.
After following the lead of 10 seniors to a historic national semifinal appearance in 2025, Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball will trot out just three uniformed seniors this fall. Once this past January hit, the Bulldogs began looking ahead with a focus on the current group in the locker room. Yes, it’s going to look different.
Says Head Coach Ben Boldt, “There's going to be people in new roles this year. There are going to be people who have their opportunity after graduating a big senior class from last year. I think getting back to basics and really focusing on the things that you control — your attitude, your effort, communication and hard work — that's really what we're getting back to. That's the basis for ‘champions behave like champions before they become champions.’ We're going to get out whatever we put into it. That effort level is really what we're focusing on right now.”
The process-oriented approach has yielded elite results with the program having reached the national tournament in six consecutive years while having also appeared in the GPAC Championship Match in each of the past five seasons. Last season’s senior class produced an eye-popping four-year record of 105-18. Concordia will attempt to make up for the losses of All-American pin hitters Ashley Keck and Ella Waters, as well as middle blocker Ava Greene (out for the season due to injury), with fundamentals and depth of talent.
Admittedly, the Boldts are still trying to figure out how all the pieces will come together as the season opener approaches. With Greene sidelined, junior Shandy Faalii and sophomore Emma Brueggemann are the returning all-conference performers. A smaller senior class includes Greene, Lanie Brott, Bella Hedke and Maddie Paulsen (a junior in terms of athletic eligibility).
Says Paulsen, “One thing we're trying to figure out is our identity. The 10 seniors we graduated were a huge part of the program, but that doesn't mean we are worse without them. It just means it's another whole process for us. We have a lot of returners who are very strong and very competitive, and we have some really good freshmen and underclassmen who are ready to see some game time.”
Under the Boldts, the Bulldogs have routinely showcased a powerful and efficient attacking offense, which can hum along in either a 6-2 or 5-1 system. Last season, Concordia upped its game defensively, posting national rankings of eighth in digs per set (18.87) and ninth in blocks per set (2.47). At libero, Emma Brueggemann proved immediately ready for primetime as she averaged 4.73 digs per set and was honored as the GPAC Freshman of the Year. Now a junior, Clara Evert saw action in 21 matches last season as a defensive and service specialist.
Without question, the Hebron, Neb., native Brueggemann provides an anchor in the back row. In the front row, the Bulldogs will attempt to replace 87.5 percent of their kills from last season. To help fill the void, the uber-athletic and hyper-energetic Faalii (formerly a DS) will step into a starring role on the outside. Returners who may step into larger attacking roles also include Paulsen, Brott, Laynee Baker and Makenna Starkey (the track program’s school high jump record holder).
“We've got to figure out who our best team is going to be,” Ben Boldt said. “It's a puzzle. It's something that's fun. We want our team to continue to support each other and compete through it. It creates a weird dynamic. You want to do your best, and you also want your teammates to do their best.”
Added Boldt of Faalii, “I think she always does things at a high level. She's a competitor. We talk about people who are gritty, and I think she's somebody who is going to compete, number one, but is also going to be able to play the game. It's not always going to be hard swing, hard swing, hard swing. There's going to be some finesse that has to go into that.”
Some of the aforementioned attackers may be interchangeable as pin hitters or middles, pending early season analysis from the coaching staff. Paulsen is glad to be another year removed from the ACL injury she suffered near the end of the 2023 season. Paulsen and her fellow seniors have relished the opportunity to take on more significant leadership roles in 2026. Part of their responsibility is to help bring along the 12 freshmen, several of whom are vying for varsity roster spots.
Paulsen sees no issue from a talent or competitive perspective. Said Paulsen, “For this team, I think what we have on lockdown is our competitive nature. At practice, we'll divide everyone up evenly into teams, and no matter who's playing, it's always competitive. We have a lot of talented athletes on this team across all classes. I think our biggest thing will be that competitiveness, along with the love that we have for each other and continuing to trust each other through that.”
During the active string of national tournament advancements, Concordia has regularly featured high-impact newcomers. The question: who will fall under that category in 2026? A former JUCO All-American, Bella Hedke is a candidate as a 6-foot middle blocker who transferred from NCAA Division II Wayne State College. She averaged 1.25 blocks per set as a sophomore at Johnson Community College.
Among the freshmen, Minden High School product Myla Emery has impressed coaches and teammates with her play as a setter. Emery helped Minden to two state championships and recently played in the Nebraska Coaches Association all-star game. It’s likely that other freshmen will also play a part in the Bulldogs’ success this season.
Boldt emphasizes that the competition at setter is continuing to play out. Ella Brueggemann is a returning varsity player at the position. Says Boldt, “Myla has really stood out for us. She's been a great setter for her high school teams and her club teams coming up. In the scrimmage we did this last week, the majority of our systems have been with her running our court. We're also looking at what a 6-2 setter could bring and how that could work.”
Strong play in serve and pass have been hallmarks of elite Bulldog squads from the past. Concordia expects to maintain a high standard in these facets. At the service line, Emma Brueggemann, Evert and Faalii combined for 60 aces last season. There are also plenty of faces to replace from a service perspective.
On Aug. 10, the GPAC announced that Concordia had been picked second in the conference’s official preseason poll. It’s the type of news that barely registers on Boldt’s radar. The staff recognizes that plenty of work remains if the Bulldogs are going to continue the program’s recent off-the-charts results.
Boldt insists that it’s still all about love, trust, hard work and sacrifice on a daily basis. GPAC and national championships are year-to-year standing goals, but Concordia has built a culture that’s more obsessed with the details than the winning. The core values are drilled into the minds of everyone inside the program.
Says Boldt, “It's always been process. Always been process. Even last year when we made it to the final four, it was with process. We're really focusing less on what the results are. We're about putting in the work and coming back to our core values.
“Results are what they are. People are going to remember their experiences and the relationships they built. We want to do things at a high level, and I think the results are a byproduct of how we trust the process.”
The preseason process will conclude on Aug. 18 when the Bulldogs welcome York University to Friedrich Arena. The nonconference slate will provide plenty of major tests as Concordia is also slated to take on the following teams that ended 2025 with NAIA top 10 rankings: No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan University, No. 4 Corban University (Ore.) and No. 8 McPherson College (Kan.). The Bulldogs will host the three-time defending national champion IWU Wildcats as part of the Power Quad set for Aug. 28-29.
View the complete 2026 varsity and junior varsity schedules HERE.