Bulldog volleyball announces 2013 schedule

The 2013 Concordia volleyball schedule will give Bulldog fans more opportunities to see their team within the friendly confines of the Walz Human Performance Complex. This fall’s slate will feature 12 home dates – a significant increase from the eight matches at Walz last season.

Head coach Scott Mattera, who will enter his second season at the helm of the program in 2013, is excited about how the schedule lays out and the quality of competition it provides.

“I’m really excited about our 2013 as it balances a lot of things we are looking for from a competition standpoint, a travel standpoint and an off time standpoint,” Mattera said.

The season’s first serve will be tossed into the air on Aug. 23 when the Bulldogs take part in Montreat College’s Volley in the Mountains in Western North Carolina. Concordia will play a total of four matches at Montreat, a school where Mattera served as the top assistant coach in 2011 when the Cavaliers went 25-14 and reached the NAIA National Championships.

The home slate begins Sept. 4 when defending GPAC regular-season champion Hastings invades Walz Arena. Mattera is counting on an electric atmosphere for not only this match, but all contests in Seward as the volleyball program continues to make leaps forward.

Through partnerships with local businesses and the addition of Concordia career counselor Corey Gray as public address announcer, the game day atmosphere will receive a jolt of enthusiasm and energy. Expect surprises along the way.

“We are doing some things in the offseason to enhance our home match presentation,” Mattera said. “Fans are going to see some great athletes playing a very fast and fun style of volleyball, but we are also going to package and promote our matches as ‘can’t-miss’ type events.”

Concordia volleyball will also be included in homecoming festivities as the Bulldogs welcome in York College on Oct. 8 – the Tuesday of homecoming week.

In addition, the schedule was pieced together so as not to conflict with Bulldog home football and men’s and women’s soccer home games whenever possible.

“It was really important for us to be able to schedule strategically to not conflict with other Bulldog events and to be able to be a part of homecoming week,” Mattera said. “We love supporting the other teams here and really appreciate their support in return.”

Other notable matches include a pair of battles with 2012 GPAC Tournament champion Doane (No. 22 postseason national ranking) and a potential duel with in-state Bellevue (No. 17 postseason rating) as part of the Bruin Labor Day Classic (Aug. 30-31). The Tigers will break in a new coach after the retirement of Cindy Meyer after the 2012 season.

Home varsity matches will again be webcast live via the Concordia Sports Network.

Details on the 2013 Bulldog volleyball recruiting class, with insight on each recruit from Mattera, will be released later this week.