SEWARD, Neb. – Both teams have already locked up bids to the opening round of the NAIA national tournament. Now the 19th-ranked Concordia University Volleyball and No. 1 Jamestown will battle for the GPAC postseason banner. The Bulldogs have made their way to the conference final by bouncing the league’s Nos. 2 and 3 seeds, College of Saint Mary and Midland, respectively. Saturday’s match in North Dakota is slated to get underway at 7 p.m. CT.
Game Info – GPAC Championship
(6) Concordia (16-10) at (1) Jamestown (30-0)
Saturday, Nov. 13 | 7 p.m.
Harold Newman Arena | Jamestown, N.D.
Live Webcast/Stats | 104.9 Max Country
--Admission: $10 for adults/senior citizens, $3 for K-12; only those with NAIA passes and GPAC student ID’s are admitted free of charge.
By the numbers
· Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad is playing its best volleyball at an opportune time. After falling in five sets to Dordt on Oct. 9, Concordia sat at 4-6 in conference play and was in danger of missing the GPAC tournament altogether. Since then, the Bulldogs have gone 7-1 with four wins over teams ranked in the NAIA top 15: No. 15 Dakota Wesleyan, No. 14 Northwestern, No. 5 Midland and No. 5 College of Saint Mary. Three of those victories came in five sets, exorcising the demons that had haunted Concordia in its first seven five-set matches of the season (all losses).
· Boldt referred to Wednesday’s win at College of Saint Mary as a defensive “barnburner.” The Bulldogs gritted out the victory while outhitting the Flames, .158 to .110. The crucial statistic for Concordia came in the blocking department, which saw the visitors own a 21-9 advantage. Gabi Nordaker starred by piling up 17 kills and 12 blocks. Camryn Opfer (12) and Carly Rodaway (10) joined Nordaker in double figures in the kill column. Meanwhile, five Bulldogs reached double figures in digs: Opfer (16), Bree Burtwistle (15), Rebecca Gebhardt (14), Lexie Kreizel (12) and Tara Callahan (10). Callahan added 34 assists and Burtwistle dropped in three aces.
· Concordia is headed to the GPAC tournament final for the second time in program history and for the first time since 2015. That ’15 run included conference tournament wins over Northwestern and College of Saint Mary prior to a straight sets defeat at No. 8 Midland in the championship match. Since the formation of the GPAC in 2000, the Bulldogs have won a conference title once, sharing the GPAC regular season championship in 2000. A victory at Jamestown would mark a historic occurrence and allow Concordia to defeat three teams in the postseason that it came up short against during the regular season.
· No matter the result on Saturday, the Bulldogs will advance to play in the national tournament for the third season in a row (and for the fourth time in program history). Over the past couple seasons, a new standard has been set in terms of national tournament advancement. Concordia reached the national round of 16 in 2019 and then motored into the national quarterfinals in 2020 (played in the spring of 2021). Last season’s team finished with a No. 8 NAIA national ranking, marking the highest final ranking ever for the program. Early this season, the Bulldogs were ranked as high as No. 6 (highest ranking at any point in program history).
· Concordia’s statistical leaders this season are Camryn Opfer in kills (325) and digs (311), Tara Callahan in assists (994), Gabi Nordaker in hitting percentage (.367) and blocks (98) and Kennedy VanScoy in aces (27). Callahan has pushed her career assist total to 4,653. Meanwhile, Opfer’s 879 career kills rank as the most among active Bulldogs (and are the 13th most in school history). Four other Concordia hitters have at least 125 kills in 2021: Nordaker (300), Erica Heinzerling (225), Carly Rodaway (142) and Kalee Wiltfong (126).
The opponent
So far in the postseason, Jamestown has simply continued to do what it did all regular season – defeat its opponents in straight sets. The Jimmies made quick work of Doane in the quarterfinals and No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan in the semifinals. At 30-0, Jamestown has won 25 matches in three sets. Head Coach Jon Hegerle’s leads all NAIA teams in kills per set (15.15) while ranking third nationally in hitting percentage (.304). The Jimmies attack their foes with five hitters who have at least 198 kills this season (led by 284 by Kalli Hegerle). Jamestown has not lose since falling to Midland in last season’s NAIA national semifinals. Back on Oct. 22, the Jimmies defeated Concordia in Seward, 25-19, 25-21, 25-21.
GPAC tournament schedule/results
Quarterfinals – Saturday, Nov. 6
(1) Jamestown def. (8) Doane, 25-20, 25-19, 25-16
(4) Dakota Wesleyan def. (5) Northwestern, 27-25, 26-28, 13-25, 25-15, 16-14
(6) Concordia def. (3) Midland, 25-23, 25-19, 25-7
(2) College of Saint Mary def. (7) Dordt, 25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 25-23
Semifinals – Wednesday, Nov. 10
(1) Jamestown def. (4) Dakota Wesleyan, 25-19, 25-23, 25-18
(6) Concordia def. (2) College of Saint Mary, 25-20, 22-25, 25-16, 27-29, 15-13
Championship – Saturday, Nov. 13
(6) Concordia at (1) Jamestown, 7 p.m.