Pool Play Matches
April 27 – vs. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), 7 p.m. CT (Court 1)
April 28 – vs. Marian (Ind.), 3:30 p.m. CT (Court 2)
SEWARD, Neb. – One of 24 teams remaining in the national championship field, the Concordia University Volleyball team learned of its NAIA pool play assignment on Sunday (April 18). The Bulldogs have been grouped with seventh-ranked Marian University (Ind.) and Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) as part of Pool G in the 2020 NAIA Volleyball National Championship. For the second season in a row, Head Coach Ben Boldt will lead the program to the final site of the tournament.
The number of teams at the final site has shrunk from 32 in 2019 to 24 this April. Those 24 squads have been separated into eight groupings for pool play that will take place April 27-28 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. The Tyson has served as the host for the NAIA Volleyball National Championship since 2008. In a typical season, the event is held in December.
Concordia (16-4) earned an at-large berth into this year’s national qualifying field while being ranked 10th in the NAIA coaches’ poll. The Bulldogs then clinched a trip to Sioux City with Saturday’s four-set win at Xavier University of New Orleans. Camryn Opfer led the way by collecting 18 kills and 16 digs. Concordia outhit the Gold Nuggets, .223 to .089.
The victory was the third all-time for the program at the national tournament. The 2019 Bulldogs became the first team in program history to win a national tournament match when it defeated both 19th-ranked Montana Tech and the University of Saint Mary (Kan.). Concordia’s three national tournament berths have come in 2015, 2019 and 2020. Officially, this is still considered the 2020 season.
Marian (17-4) earned an automatic bid to the national tournament via a Crossroads League tournament runner up claim. The Knights defeated Bryan (Tenn.) in straight sets in the opening round. Meanwhile, Lindsey Wilson (22-3) captured Mid-South Conference regular season and postseason championships. The Blue Raiders won at Cornerstone (Mich.) in straight sets in the opening round.