SEWARD, Neb. – It will have been nearly a month since the Concordia University Volleyball team made a home appearance by the time first serve arrives on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs had this past weekend off from game action while preparing for visits from College of Saint Mary and No. 20 Midland. In last week’s GPAC opener, Concordia traveled to Yankton, S.D., and defeated an improved Mount Marty opponent, 25-20, 25-16, 21-25, 25-15. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad stands at 8-1 overall (1-0 GPAC) with four-straight matches against in-state GPAC rivals up next.
This Week
Wednesday, Sept. 11 vs. College of Saint Mary (9-5, 0-1 GPAC), 7:30 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
Saturday, Sept. 14 vs. No. 20 Midland (5-6, 1-0 GPAC), 3 p.m. (Parents Weekend)
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
By the numbers
· The 8-1 start to the season resulted in the Bulldogs moving up one spot to No. 3 in the NAIA coaches’ poll released on Sept. 4. The top 25 poll featured plenty of movement as compared to the NAIA preseason rating that was unveiled in mid-August. Based on the current poll, Concordia owns wins over three nationally ranked teams: No. 7 Indiana Wesleyan University, No. 17 Viterbo University (Wis.) and No. 18 Columbia College (Mo.). The lone defeat came up against now eighth-ranked Bellevue University. According to Massey Ratings, the Bulldogs have played the 18th most challenging schedule in the NAIA to this point in the season. Lofty rankings have become the norm for Concordia, which was placed at No. 1 in the NAIA in two separate polls in 2023.
· The Bulldogs and Lancers both sported 7-1 records when they met up in Yankton last week. Mount Marty pushed the match to four sets with the help of 19 kills from junior outside hitter Julia Weber. Concordia shook off the third set defeat and polished off the match by hitting .324 in the fourth set. Four Bulldogs reached double figures in kills: Ashley Keck (14), Gabi Nordaker (11), Ella Waters (11) and Molli Martin (10). Each of those Concordia standouts hit .345 or better on the night. They were facilitated by setters Savannah Shelburne (30 assists) and Lily Psencik (18 assists). Addie Kirkegaard also chipped in with six kills and four blocks and Shandy Fa’ali’i collected three aces. In the back row, Becca Gebhardt notched 10 digs.
· The two-time All-American Nordaker keeps adding to her career totals and is on the cusp of reaching 500 career blocks. In 123 career collegiate matches, Nordaker has totaled 1,237 kills and 494 blocks. In the history of the program, there are only two other players who have tallied at least that many kills and blocks – Katie Werner (1,600 kills and 787 blocks) and Rachel Kirchner (1,315 kills and 760 blocks). In recent action, Nordaker passed Darcy Lindner (1,204 kills) for No. 7 on the program’s all-time kills list. Nordaker has earned four All-GPAC awards (three first-team mentions) in her career.
· The win at Mount Marty was the first step in Concordia’s contention for another GPAC regular season title. The Bulldogs went 14-2 in GPAC regular season play in 2023 and shared the league title with Jamestown and Northwestern. Dating back to October of 2022, Concordia has won 20 of its past 23 GPAC regular season contests. Now in his seventh season as head coach, Boldt owns a conference mark of 64-32 (135-48 overall).
· The Bulldogs have not played at home since hosting the Bulldog Bash back on Aug. 16-17. Concordia went 2-0 that weekend with wins over Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) and Oklahoma City University. During the tenure of Ben and Angie Boldt, the Bulldogs have posted respective home records of 9-4 in 2018, 11-2 in 2019, 10-1 in 2020, 6-5 in 2021, 11-1 in 2022 and 13-1 in 2023. The totals add up to a collective home record of 62-14 from 2018 through the present.
· As Nordaker climbs the program kills and blocks lists, the senior libero Gebhardt is doing the same on the digs list. In 100 career matches, the native of Norfolk, Neb., has tallied 1,333 digs for the seventh most in school history. It’s also the third highest digs total during the tenure of the Boldts, behind only Camryn Opfer (1,671) and Marissa Hoerman (1,437). Gebhardt’s career stat line also includes 1,355 service receptions (out of 1,409 chances) and 62 aces.
The opponents
College of Saint Mary landed at No. 17 in the NAIA preseason coaches’ poll before dropping out in the latest edition of the top 25. The season profile for the Flames shows a 9-5 record that includes a four-set home loss to Midland in the GPAC opener. CSM returns the 2023 GPAC Freshman of the Year in 6-foot middle hitter Azaria Green while also bringing back 6-foot senior pin hitter Grace Werner, a second team all-conference selection. Under sixth-year Head Coach Rick Pruett, the Flames have qualified for the national tournament four times (2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023). This past weekend, CSM earned a straight-sets win over previously unbeaten Evangel University (Mo.). The Flames finished 2023 at 22-9 overall (10-6 GPAC).
Midland slid back from sixth to 20th in the latest NAIA coaches’ poll. The Warriors enter the week at 5-6 (1-0 GPAC) while having played a rigorous nonconference slate. Notably, Midland owns a win over now 17th-ranked Viterbo. The Warriors bring back three All-GPAC players, including first team middle blocker Abbey Ringler and second team right side Jacki Apel. Midland ended Concordia’s 2023 season by defeating the Bulldogs in three sets with a spot in the NAIA national quarterfinals on the line. Now in his 15th season as head coach, Paul Giesselmann entered this season with a record of 333-128 at Midland. The perennially strong Warrior program reached the national semifinals in 2016, 2018 and 2022 and played in the national title match in 2020. Midland finished last season at 18-12 overall (10-6 GPAC).
Next week
The Bulldogs will be off in the middle of next week before continuing the homestand by hosting Hastings on Saturday, Sept. 21.