SEWARD, Neb. – A string of home matches to begin the 2023 season will continue this weekend as the Concordia University Volleyball program welcomes three competing NAIA squads to Friedrich Arena for the 2023 Bulldog Bash. This will mark the eighth year that the Bulldog Bash has been held. As part of the event, fourth-ranked Concordia will go up against Langston University (Okla.) and No. 11 MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.). GPAC rival Northwestern will also be on hand. There will be a total of five matches over the course of Friday and Saturday. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad is coming off a four-set win over McPherson College (Kan.) in the season opener.
This Week – 2023 Bulldog Bash
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--Note: only Saturday’s Concordia match will be carried on Max Country.
Friday, Aug. 25
5 p.m. – (5) Northwestern vs. (11) MidAmerica Nazarene
7:30 p.m. – (4) Concordia vs. Langston
Saturday, Aug. 26
11 a.m. – (11) MidAmerica Nazarene vs. Langston
1:30 p.m. – (5) Northwestern vs. Langston
4 p.m. – (4) Concordia vs. (11) MidAmerica Nazarene
By the numbers
· The Bulldogs had to sweat it out in the third and fourth sets, but they eventually took back control of the match from the visitors from McPherson, Kan. Concordia won, 25-12, 25-22, 20-25, 25-20, and held statistical advantages in hitting percentage, .175 to .102, kills, 46-45, aces, 5-4, and blocks, 9-6. Individual leaders for the victors included Camryn Opfer in kills (15), Bree Burtwistle in assists (38), Lexie Kreizel in aces (three), Becca Gebhardt in digs (15) and Maddie Paulsen in blocks (four). A 5-foot-7 sophomore from Broken Bow, Neb., Scott saw her most extensive varsity action and responded with 10 kills. As Concordia turned the tide in the fourth set, Scott put together consecutive plays that went kill-kill-block. Separate runs of 5-0 and 6-0 in the fourth set helped Concordia stave off the upset bid.
· Boldt’s crew began this season with a lofty NAIA national ranking of No. 4, a ranking that equals the highest in the history of a program that competed at the varsity level for the first time in 1972. A successful weekend could push the Bulldogs even higher when the new poll is released next week. No. 1 Jamestown started out 1-3 in the season’s opening week and No. 2 Corban University (Ore.) began this week at 3-1. As expected, the GPAC was well-represented in the 2023 NAIA preseason poll with seven conference squads taking up residence within the top 25: No. 1 Jamestown, No. 4 Concordia, No. 5 Northwestern, No. 9 Midland, No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan, No. 18 College of Saint Mary and No. 24 Hastings. This marks the fourth year in a row that the Bulldogs have started a season with a national ranking. In previous preseasons, Concordia landed at No. 10 in 2020, at No. 7 in 2021 and at No. 11 in 2022. The Boldts teams went on to earn final rankings of No. 14 in 2019, No. 8, in 2020, No. 6 in 2021 and No. 4 in 2022.
· The Seward High School alum Opfer has stated her case as one of the most accomplished players in Concordia volleyball’s history. In 119 career matches, Opfer has tallied 1,283 kills and 1,350 digs (in addition to 177 blocks and 63 aces). She is one of four players in program history to have eclipsed both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. The 2022 NAIA Second Team All-American is closing in on Rachel (Kirchner) Miller (1,315 kills) for No. 4 on the program’s all-time kills list. Opfer will be shooting for a fifth career All-GPAC award after having been named second team all-conference in 2019 and 2020 and first team all-conference in 2021 and 2022. Both Opfer and Burtwistle opted in on a fifth year. NAIA volleyball players were not charged with a season of competition in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
· There were two Bulldogs who made their collegiate varsity debuts last week as freshman Maddie Paulsen (Sioux Falls, S.D.) started at middle blocker and sophomore Savannah Shelburne made an appearance at setter. There were 13 Concordia players who saw action in the season opener, including returning All-Americans in Burtwistle, Opfer and middle Gabi Nordaker. Concordia had an opening for playing time in the middle with Morgan Nibbe and Kalee Wiltfong having moved on from last season’s squad. Paulsen registered seven kills and four blocks in the win over McPherson.
· The Millard West High School alum Nordaker is next in line to hit the 1,000-career kill mark. She’s totaled 901 kills and 343 blocks in 86 career matches. Nordaker garnered second team all-conference accolades in 2020 before rising to the first team in both 2021 and 2022. She hit a team best .353 last season and was a major reason why Concordia spent a good chunk of the 2022 campaign leading the country in hitting percentage. It wound up No. 2 in the NAIA with a .255 team hitting percentage. This could mark Nordaker’s final collegiate season, barring a decision to use the ‘COVID year’ of eligibility as Burtwistle and Opfer have done.
· The Bulldogs are now 14-1 over their last 15 home matches, dating back to late in the 2021 season. Concordia went 11-1 at home in 2022 with the lone defeat coming at the hands of Midland in the final match of the regular season. The Bulldogs have won five nonconference home matches in a row, a stretch that includes NAIA opening round victories over Ave Maria University (Fla.) and Florida College.
The opponents
Prior to venturing to Seward, Langston will open its season in Dallas on Tuesday against two NAIA opponents. The Lions are coming off a 2022 season that saw them finish at 8-21 overall and at 1-19 inside the Sooner Athletic Conference. Head Coach Christian Lowe is in her fifth year leading the program. Lowe played her college volleyball at Tennessee State. The team’s leading returning hitter is Braelyn Spence, who piled up 196 kills and hit .198 in 2022. Langston is still seeking the program’s first appearance on the national tournament stage.
MidAmerica Nazarene went a sparkling 30-2 while reaching the national tournament final site in 2022. The Pioneers will get their 2023 campaign underway by hosting No. 22 Ottawa University (Kan.) on Tuesday. MNU is guided by fifth-year Head Coach Molly Karagyaurov, a former standout player for the Pioneers. MNU checked in at No. 11 in the NAIA preseason coaches’ poll and will be aspiring to earn the program’s eighth all-time trip to the national tournament. The Pioneers bring back three players who were named All-Americans last season: Mikayla Johnson (second team), Cassidy Crist (honorable mention) and Lucie Maceckova (honorable mention). Last season’s team hit .222 and limited opponents to a .119 percentage. The most recent Concordia-MidAmerica Nazarene matchup occurred in 2018 when the Bulldogs won in straight sets in a contest played in Orange City, Iowa.
Next week
The GPAC slate will get started on Aug. 29 as the Bulldogs play at No. 24 Hastings. The weekend of Sept. 1-2, Concordia will be in North Sioux City, S.D., for the CSM/United Sports Labor Day Classic. The opponents during that stretch will be Rocky Mountain College (Mont.), Mayville State University (N.D.), Kansas Wesleyan University and No. 6 Park University (Mo.).