NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. – On paper, the match of the week for the 10th-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team was the first one it played on Friday (Sept. 2) at the two-day Labor Day Classic hosted by the College of Saint Mary/United Sports Academy. In a rematch of a 2021 national tournament clash, the Bulldogs pummeled No. 9 Viterbo University (Wis.), 25-15, 25-18, 25-16. Late in the evening, Concordia returned to the court in North Sioux City, S.D., and manhandled Presentation College (S.D.), 25-14, 25-14, 25-22.
Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad has done nothing but impress throughout an 8-0 run to begin the 2022 season. The Bulldogs have won 19 consecutive sets.
“I was proud of how they moved together. It was a full team effort,” Boldt said. “It’s been a good evolution to see our team work through a lot of things. We were executing and it was just all going our way. We’re finding a rhythm right now. We served really well and we blocked really well. Our offense has been pretty good. When we add our serve and defense to that, you get a complete game.”
Like most outings over the past few seasons, there wasn’t just one Bulldog who stood out. But on this particular day, outside hitter Camryn Opfer deserves special mention for cruising past 1,000 career kills. Opfer, who entered the day with 999 kills as a Bulldog, put away eight kills and notched nine digs in the win over the V-Hawks of the North Star Athletic Association. Opfer became just the fourth player in program history to accumulate both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs for a career. Fans and parents of players in attendance held up signs in celebration of Opfer’s 1,000th kill.
At 5-4 so far this season, Viterbo has run a gauntlet of a schedule that has included losses to No. 1 Missouri Baptist and No. 2 Midland – but no one has beaten the V-Hawks as thoroughly as Concordia did on Friday. While syncing together all facets of the game in near perfect harmony, the Bulldogs posted set-by-set hitting percentages of .400, .308 and .205. In addition, Concordia owned a 9-3 advantage in blocks with Gabi Nordaker’s five rejections topping all players. Nordaker also floored 12 kills and hit a simmering .600 from the middle.
Presentation couldn’t stop Nordaker either. The Millard West High School alum pounded down 12 more kills and hit .647 in the process of vanquishing the Saints in three sets. Opfer also did a number from the outside with 11 more kills (now 1,018 for her career). Meanwhile, libero Rebecca Gebhardt racked up 17 digs while Bree Burtwistle (57 assists on the day) padded her assist total.
After tasting success early in the day, the Bulldogs passed another mental test by getting back up to play an unranked opponent late on Friday night. Says Boldt, “One of our core values we have is ‘day by day,’ meaning we want to stay in the present. I could see in Presentation’s eyes that they really wanted to win that game. If you exult yourself, you’re going to be humbled. If you stay humble, you will be exulted. That was a big message for us this week.”
There were plenty of other contributors on the day, including Ashley Keck and Carly Rodaway (10 kills apiece on the day). This is proving to be a well-rounded team with a couple All-America caliber players like Nordaker and Opfer. While wearing No. 10, Opfer has been at the heart of everything Concordia has achieved in a history-making four-year span.
Said Boldt, “I’m really proud of the journey that Cam’s been on. It was cool to see her get her 1,000th kill. The parents and the team coordinated a little thing where they all had ‘1,000’ on a piece of paper. For Cam’s first kill of the match, they all went crazy.”
The action will continue from North Sioux City on Saturday with the Bulldogs scheduled to take on Dakota State University (S.D.) at 11 a.m. and Evangel University (Mo.) at 3 p.m. Dakota State is receiving votes in the national poll. For a fee, fans can watch the matches live online via BallerTV.