SEWARD, Neb. – The week of homecoming will bring an anticipated showdown for the fourth-ranked Concordia University Volleyball team. The Bulldogs (11-1, 4-0 GPAC) remained unbeaten in GPAC play last week while taking care of Hastings in straight sets. Concordia will attempt to keep its spotless conference mark intact this week as it travels to Doane on Wednesday before hosting No. 1 Northwestern on Saturday. Currently, the Bulldogs and Red Raiders are tied atop the GPAC standings.
This Week
Wednesday, Sept. 25 at Doane (4-12, 0-4 GPAC), 7:30 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Haddix Center (Crete, Neb.)
Saturday, Sept. 28 vs. No. 1 Northwestern (14-0, 4-0 GPAC), 4 p.m.
--104.9 Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
--Crowd theme: wear navy blue
By the numbers
· The second NAIA coaches’ poll of the 2024 regular season was released on Sept. 18. Despite having taken care of business in recent action, Concordia dropped one spot to No. 4 while being leapfrogged by former GPAC nemesis Jamestown. The Jimmies are ranked third behind No. 1 Northwestern and No. 2 Eastern Oregon University. Based on the current top 25 poll, the Bulldogs own four wins over nationally ranked foes: No. 8 Indiana Wesleyan University, No. 17 Viterbo University (Wis.), No. 20 Midland and No. 25 Columbia College (Mo.). The lone defeat came at the hands of No. 8 Bellevue University. According to Massey Ratings, Concordia has played the nation’s 13th most challenging schedule.
· In last week’s only outing, the Bulldogs extended their series winning streak over Hastings to nine. Though it concluded in three sets, Concordia was forced to navigate choppy waters in both the second and third sets. Ultimately, the Bulldogs prevailed, 25-13, 26-24, 26-24, while outhitting the Broncos, .178 to .139. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s crew got a starring performance from junior Ashley Keck, who turned in match highs for digs (21) and kills (17). She hit .350 from the outside. Meanwhile, Ella Waters contributed 10 kills, Addie Kirkegaard notched nine kills, Gabi Nordaker produced six blocks and Savannah Shelburne contributed 24 assists, eight digs and two aces. Concordia had only one service error (compared to four aces).
· The Kearney, Neb., native Keck played like an All-American in the win over Hastings. Not only did she lead both sides in kills and digs, she also was a perfect 18-for-18 on serve receive. A two-time All-GPAC honoree and the 2022 GPAC Freshman of the Year, Keck is on track for major postseason honors in 2024. She leads the team with 136 kills (3.24 per set) and is hitting .245 on the season. In 71 career collegiate matches, Keck has totaled 736 kills (.207 hitting percentage), 816 service receptions and 509 digs.
· The Bulldogs are a program that has become known for offensive firepower. On the NAIA national leaderboards, Concordia ranks second in kills per set (14.07) and 11th in hitting percentage (.242). There are five Bulldogs with more than 75 kills for the season: Keck (136), Waters (130), Kirkegaard (97), Nordaker (92) and Kya Scott (77). Concordia has continued to attack with efficiency while adjusting to a 6-2 system that features setters Lily Psencik and Savannah Shelburne.
· Dating back to October 2022, the Bulldogs have gone 23-3 in their past 26 GPAC regular season outings. That stretch includes the 14-2 league mark Concordia posted in 2023 as part of a shared GPAC regular season title run. The Bulldogs also have put together a fine run at home, where they are 5-0 in 2024. 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 65-14 from 2018 through the present.
· Concordia will take on a No. 1-ranked team for the second time this season. Back on Aug. 24, the Bulldogs managed to outlast then top-ranked Indiana Wesleyan, the defending NAIA national champion, in five sets behind 17 kills from Ella Waters. Concordia also went up against Northwestern in 2023 when it was ranked No. 1. The Red Raiders got past the Bulldogs in five sets in the 2023 GPAC championship match. Northwestern won both of last season’s meetings with Concordia before going on to finish as the NAIA national runner up. The most recent time the Bulldogs hosted a team ranked No. 1 nationally was 2021 when top-rated Jamestown visited Friedrich Arena and won in straight sets.
The opponents
Doane announced RanDee Ochinero as the program’s new head coach in January 2024. Most recently, Ochinero served as an assistant coach at Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) and was part of teams that qualified for the national tournament in 2022 and 2023. The Tigers have started 0-4 in league play with losses coming at the hands of Hastings, Mount Marty, College of Saint Mary and No. 20 Midland. Doane is in the process of building a foundation coming off an 8-19 (6-10 GPAC) campaign in 2023. The Tigers returned Honorable Mention All-GPAC right side Taylor Sluka. Kayden Schumacher leads the team with 137 kills this season. As a team, Doane is hitting .118 while its opponents are hitting .187. Concordia has won four straight and 11 of the past 12 meetings in the series with the Tigers.
Head Coach Kyle Van Den Bosch’s Red Raiders have started 14-0 after finishing 2023 at 31-3 overall and as the NAIA national runner up. Northwestern owns four wins this season over top 25 opponents and has breezed through the first four GPAC matches (all straight sets victories). The Red Raiders returned 2023 GPAC Player of the Year Jazlin Douma (maiden name De Haan) and fellow First Team All-GPAC honorees in outside hitter Alysen Dexter and middle blocker Zavyr Metzger, who leads the NAIA in blocks per set (1.90). In terms of kills per set, Douma (4.0) and Dexter (3.67) are the top two hitters in the GPAC. Like Concordia, Northwestern has used a pair of setters – Liv Reitsma and Logan Miller. The Red Raiders lead the GPAC with a .253 hitting percentage. On the other side of the net, Northwestern’s opponents are hitting just .102.
Next week
The longest road trip of the 2024 conference slate is coming up next Friday-Saturday (Oct. 4-5) when the Bulldogs will be at new GPAC member Waldorf before heading to Dakota Wesleyan the next day. Concordia will play seven of its final 12 regular season matches away from home.