Season of significant achievement ends one win shy of NAIA quarterfinals

By Jacob Knabel on Dec. 2, 2022 in Volleyball

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – In an effort to advance beyond NAIA National Championship pool play for the fourth year in a row, the Concordia University Volleyball team came up one win short. Disjointed first and second sets were too much to overcome as the fourth-ranked Bulldogs were beaten by No. 13 Park University (Mo.), 25-18, 25-19, 19-25, 25-22, in Sioux City, Iowa, on Friday (Dec. 2). The Pirates managed to limit one of the nation’s most potent attacking teams to an .070 hitting percentage.

Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad lived inside the top 10 of the NAIA coaches’ poll virtually wire-to-wire in what has been another of the most successful seasons in program history. It took a special group to reach these heights, but it stings in the moment as Concordia ends the 2022 campaign at 25-6 overall.

“We kept competing. We stayed gritty,” Boldt said. “They took a couple swings at the end there that put the momentum in their favor. The margins are tight. I thought the first couple sets were just choppy, and we weren’t able to get into a rhythm. We were able to start doing that in the third set and even in the fourth set a little bit. They made plays.”

No one associated with the program planned on an exit this quickly from the national tournament. As the top seed in Pool D, the Bulldogs took care of GPAC rival Hastings in four sets on Wednesday. It set up a winner-take-all clash for the right to win the pool. A strong defensive team, Park (29-5) seized the moment with the help of 20-plus digs from three separate players in the back row. The Pirates were just a bit sharper with fewer hitting errors (24 to Concordia’s 30) and a slight edge in blocks, 13-12.

Behind a strong match from Camryn Opfer (14 kills and 23 digs), the Bulldogs rebounded to play much cleaner in the third and fourth sets. Trailing 23-19 in the fourth set, Concordia climbed back within a point (23-22) after back-to-back kills from Gabi Nordaker and one from Opfer. Ultimately, Malaina Hensley’s attack landed for match point. Park’s hitting percentage of .157 was enough to get the job done.

Tears flowed for the Bulldog seniors as the realization set in that this was the end. There’s never been a better four-year run in program history and the likes of Opfer, Bree Burtwistle, Bree Green, Morgan Nibbe, Kennedy VanScoy and Kalee Wiltfong understand what it took to raise the status of the program to an elite level. Individually, Opfer has totaled more kills (195) and digs (231) at the national tournament than any player in school history.

Said Boldt, “I don’t know if you can put it in words. One of our first team mottos was ‘champions behave like champions before they become champions.’ This team – they’re champions. That was our message after the match. They’ve become who we want this program to be. At the end of the day, there’s one champion that’s going to be crowned, but it’s about who you are along the way. We love our team. It’s tough not to get your goals, but I think we can look back and say that we played for each other, put the work in and have no regrets.”

Team statistical leaders other than Opfer on Friday were Burtwistle in assists (34) and aces (three) and Nordaker in blocks (eight). In addition, Nordaker and Ashley Keck chipped in with six kills apiece and Rebecca Gebhardt amassed 17 digs and an ace. In one sequence in the third set, Keck made a terrific diving dig and soon followed it up with a booming kill. Concordia gained a bit of traction by hitting .132 in the third set.

Park is no stranger to the national stage having reached it for the ninth time in program history. The Pirates won the national title as recently as 2018. Park was paced in kills by the hard-hitting Thaynara Jesus (16 kills) on Friday. Hensley backed her up with 13 kills while also adding 20 digs and three blocks. Irene Verdino led all players with 24 digs.

Ben and Angie Boldt have piloted the Bulldogs to the national tournament final site in four straight seasons. Accomplishments in 2022 included an appearance in the GPAC tournament championship match, 13 victories over teams that qualified for the national tournament and the highest national ranking (No. 4) in the program’s history. Along the way, Concordia embraced its core values of love, trust, hard work and sacrifice.