ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Another opportunity awaits on Saturday when the Concordia University Volleyball team will play its 14th match this season against a team currently ranked in the NAIA top 25. The Bulldogs and No. 14 Northwestern will go head-to-head at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday from the Bultman Center in Orange City, Iowa. Both the junior varsity and varsity matches were pushed back from their originally scheduled times of 1:30 and 3 p.m. (now 3:30 and 5 p.m.).
Saturday, Oct. 30 at No. 14 Northwestern (16-7, 8-5 GPAC), 5 p.m.
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Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad hopes to build upon this past Saturday’s five-set win over No. 15 Dakota Wesleyan. Factoring in the Oct. 22 battle with top-ranked Jamestown, Concordia had dropped its first five sets of the weekend before responding in a big way against the Tigers. The Bulldogs used a big advantage on the attack (.319 to .176 in hitting percentage) and followed the lead of Camryn Opfer (25 kills, 20 digs and five blocks) on the way to victory. In addition, Erica Heinzerling pulverized a career high 21 kills and Gabi Nordaker added 16 kills and four blocks. For the second match in a row, Concordia employed both Tara Callahan and Bree Burtwistle at the setter position.
The victory over Dakota Wesleyan meant a lot in terms of GPAC positioning and a potential national tournament at-large berth. The Bulldogs (12-10, 7-7 GPAC) are currently in seventh place in the GPAC standings while hoping to clinch a conference tournament spot this week. Concordia may jump back into the NAIA top 25 when a new poll is released on Wednesday. It’s worth noting that five teams in the receiving votes category of last season’s pre-national tournament poll earned at-large berths into the 48-team national tournament field. The GPAC may wind up with seven or eight national qualifiers.
In last week’s action, Callahan surpassed 4,500 career assists and became the program’s all-time assist leader during the modern era of rally scoring, which began in 2001 (sets were reduced to 25 points to win instead of 30 in 2008). With 4,529 career assists, Callahan jumped ahead of Alayna Kavanaugh (4,485 assists) on the school’s all-time list. Bulldog standout Stacy Stuckenschmidt racked up 4,949 assists under different scoring rules from 1992-95. Callahan is the leader for an attack that is hitting .243 (14th best in the NAIA).
Callahan has a wealth of options at her disposal. Five Bulldogs have totaled at least 100 kills this season: Opfer (265), Nordaker (245), Heinzerling (201), Carly Rodaway (112) and Kalee Wiltfong (109). Opfer’s career kill total has moved to 819. Opfer also paces the team with 269 digs. Three teammates have notched at least 200 digs: Cassidy Knust (231), Callahan (222) and Rebecca Gebhardt (216). Lexie Kreizel also saw significant playing time in the match against Dakota Wesleyan and registered 18 digs.
Northwestern no longer has former NAIA Player of the Year Anna Wedel, but it remains a formidable foe. Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch has guided the Red Raiders to 11 national tournament appearances and 10 total GPAC titles during his first 16 seasons leading the program. Northwestern enters the week having won four matches in a row. The team’s top attacker has been freshman outside hitter Alysen Dexter, who has accumulated 297 kills (3.67/set) while hitting .234. The Red Raiders have won each of the past seven meetings with the Bulldogs.
Concordia will finish the regular season next Tuesday (Nov. 2) when it hosts Hastings (14-12, 5-9 GPAC) at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs topped the Broncos in straight sets in Hastings on Sept. 18. Both squads are fighting for spots in the GPAC tournament down the stretch of the regular season.