SEWARD, Neb. – The 2023 regular season has been whittled down to just three remaining GPAC matches. The Concordia University Volleyball team will look to pick itself up off the mat following this past Saturday's home loss to No. 9 College of Saint Mary. The Bulldogs will hit the road on Wednesday to play at Mount Marty before coming back home to host Hastings for senior day on Saturday. Eight seniors will be recognized as part of the festivities. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s enters the week with an overall mark of 18-2 (11-2 GPAC).
This Week
Wednesday, Oct. 25 at Mount Marty (10-18, 3-10 GPAC), 7:30 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Cimpl Arena (Yankton, S.D.)
Saturday, Oct. 28 vs. Hastings (8-14, 3-10 GPAC), 4 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
--Senior Day
By the numbers
· Due to losses in two of its past three outings, Concordia no longer has control of its own destiny as it relates to winning the GPAC regular season title. Heading into Wednesday’s action, the Bulldogs reside in a tie with Northwestern for second place. Both sides sit at 11-2 in league play. With wins last week over Briar Cliff and Dordt, Jamestown moved into first place with a 12-1 GPAC record. A showdown looms on Saturday when the Jimmies will host the Red Raiders. A three-way tie for first place is in play as a potential outcome. The Bulldogs are chasing the program’s first GPAC championship since sharing the regular season title in 2000. Concordia has finished as the GPAC tournament runner up in back-to-back years (2021 and 2022) and did the same in 2015.
· The Bulldogs have held the NAIA’s No. 1 ranking since the release of the Sept. 27 NAIA coaches’ top 25 poll. That will likely change when a new poll is released on Wednesday. Indiana Wesleyan University (26-0) of the Crossroads League is the lone unbeaten team remaining in NAIA volleyball. There are four squads with exactly one loss: Columbia International University (S.C.) (25-1), Eastern Oregon University (24-1), Vanguard University (Calif.) (22-1) and Blue Mountain Christian University (Miss.) (17-1). According to Massey Ratings, the top five teams in the NAIA currently are (in order) Indiana Wesleyan, Northwestern, Eastern Oregon, Concordia and Viterbo University (Wis.). Massey lists the Bulldogs as having played the nation’s 12th most challenging schedule.
· In last week’s first match, Concordia earned a season sweep of Doane and has now won 11 of the past 12 meetings with the rival Tigers. Though in a struggle to reach the GPAC tournament, Doane gave the Bulldogs a tussle in the first two sets, as it led 15-14 in the first and played to a 13-13 tie through the middle of the second. Concordia eventually found its groove behind 12 kills and five blocks from All-American middle Gabi Nordaker. Outside hitter Camryn Opfer added nine kills and 15 digs and Maddie Paulsen chipped in six kills and six blocks. Bree Burtwistle facilitated the offense with 40 assists. As a team, the Bulldogs own a 12-7 advantage in blocks and held the Tigers to .033 hitting.
· Concordia’s 10-match home win streak fell by the wayside this past Saturday as No. 9 College of Saint Mary outplayed the Bulldogs inside Friedrich Arena and walked away with the win, 25-22, 25-23, 21-25, 25-21. The result snapped what had been a five-match series win streak for Concordia. The Flames middles had their win in the latest matchup as Azaria Green went for 18 kills and three blocks and Kamryn Willman contributed eight blocks. Their efforts allowed CSM to overcome a fine outing from Opfer, who totaled a match high 20 kills to go along with 14 digs and two blocks. Ashley Keck added 17 kills and 13 digs. Burtwistle piled up 47 more assists. Ultimately, the blocking of the Flames (11-5 advantage) won out.
· Opfer continues to do it all for Concordia as someone who plays every rotation. Opfer’s 20 kills versus CSM represented a season high and marked the sixth time in her career that she’s notched at least 20 in a match. Her career high kill total for a match remains the 25 she posted in a five-set home win over Dakota Wesleyan in 2021. Opfer also put together a memorable 21-kill, 16-dig performance in a national tournament win that season over Viterbo. In her career, Opfer has totaled 1,561 digs, 1,463 kills, 199 blocks and 80 aces in 136 matches (483 sets). The Seward High School product is on track to play in a national tournament for the fifth time.
· The senior class will be honored prior to first serve on Saturday. The large group includes Ashtynne Frahm, Sara Huss, Lexie Kreizel, Maddy Nagel, Gabi Nordaker, Carly Rodaway, Addie Smith and Shelby Stark. Fifth-year players in Bree Burtwistle and Camryn Opfer took part in senior day festivities a year ago. As for the eight fourth-year players, they have been part of Bulldog squads that have gone a combined 80-25 since the beginning of the 2020 season. The accomplishments also include three national tournament berths with two of those resulting in advancements to the NAIA quarterfinals. Among the seniors, Nordaker is the most decorated. She’s been named All-GPAC three times with two first team mentions. She was also recognized as a Second Team All-American in 2022.
· Since beginning his tenure as Bulldog head coach in 2018, Ben Boldt owns an overall record of 120-45 for a winning percentage of .727. Earlier this season, Boldt moved past Rachel Miller (107-125) for No. 3 on the program’s all-time wins list. The top two head coaches on that list are Berniece Jones (181-200) and Vicki Boye (167-136).
The opponents
Mount Marty fell in four sets at Concordia back on Sept. 20. Entering the week in a tie for ninth place in the GPAC, the Lancers have made obvious improvements compared to a year ago when they finished at 7-19 overall (2-14 GPAC). Head Coach Belen Albertos’ squad owns conference wins this season over Doane, Hastings and Briar Cliff. Outside hitter Julia Weber attacks at a high volume, as evidenced by her average of 3.72 kills per set. Weber has been the beneficiary of the setting of Ally Whitmire (9.27 assists per set). As a team, Mount Marty is hitting .105 while its opponents are hitting .183.
Hastings will attempt to avenge the four-set home defeat it was handed by the Bulldogs to begin conference play on Aug. 29. The two programs also met at the 2022 national tournament with that meeting also going in Concordia’s favor. The 3-10 GPAC record is a bit misleading for the Broncos, who officially forfeited home matches to Doane (Sept. 20) and Briar Cliff (Sept. 23). Head Coach Alex Allard’s team leans upon the attacking abilities of Majesta Valasek, who averages 4.14 kills per set and is hitting .232 from the outside. Hastings is hitting .180 while allowing its opponents to hit .199. Before heading to Seward on Saturday, the Broncos will be at Doane on Wednesday.
Next week
Concordia will close out the regular season with a trip to No. 17 Midland on Halloween. The GPAC tournament will then get started with the quarterfinals on Nov. 4.