SEWARD, Neb. – The final match of the 2025 regular season is upon the fourth-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball team. The Bulldogs hope to defeat another in-state foe with Doane set to visit Friedrich Arena on Tuesday night. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad stands at 14-1 in league play (21-2 overall) following a five-set win at No. 19 Midland. Once Tuesday’s match is in the books, Concordia will shift focus to the postseason play, which begins with the GPAC quarterfinals on Saturday.
This Week
Tuesday, Nov. 4 vs. Doane (12-18, 3-12 GPAC), 7:30 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
GPAC Quarterfinals – Saturday, Nov. 8 vs. TBD, 7:30 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
By the numbers
· As made public on Oct. 29, the Bulldogs checked in at No. 4 for the second NAIA coaches’ poll in a row, extending the program’s string of consecutive NAIA top five rankings to 23. Worth noting, there was a new No. 1 as University of Providence (Mont.) leapfrogged Eastern Oregon University and moved to the top spot. No. 2 Eastern Oregon was followed in the poll by Northwestern at No. 3. Based on the current top 25, Concordia has defeated four ranked teams (five total wins): No. 8 Indiana Wesleyan University, No. 16 Viterbo University (Wis.), No. 19 Midland (twice) and No. 25 MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.). This season’s only two defeats have come against top three foes. In the most recent NAIA RPI (released on Oct. 19), the Bulldogs appeared at No. 5. Concordia is ranked No. 3 in the NAIA’s official Midwest ARC rankings. New RPI and ARC ratings will be released on Tuesday.
· For only the second time this season, the Bulldogs faced a two-sets-to-none deficit. Concordia rallied back at No. 19 Midland and earned the reverse sweep, 20-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-9, in Fremont. Boldt’s crew responded to the deficit with strong attacking play (.288 hitting percentage) and 17 blocks. Junior middle Ava Greene contributed to 13 of those blocks. Meanwhile, Ashley Keck filled the stat sheet with 18 kills, 18 digs and five blocks. At setter, Savannah Shelburne posted 25 assists, 10 digs and four aces (out of nine for the team). Another four Concordia players chipped in with at least eight kills: Molli Martin (12), Ella Waters (12), Greene (eight) and Kya Scott (eight). The Bulldogs overcame 21 kills from Brooklynn Snyder.
· A Papillion, Neb., native and Papillion LaVista South High School alum, Greene produced a new career-high with her 13 blocks at Midland. Greene ranks fourth among GPAC players with an average of 1.28 blocks per set. Her prowess at the net has helped Concordia vault to No. 7 nationally in blocks per set (2.55). The Bulldogs continue to shine as a stellar defensive team having held opponents to a .100 hitting percentage and an average of 10.60 kills per set. Molli Martin is also averaging better than a block per set at 1.13. In the back row, libero Emma Brueggemann has cleaned up with 5.08 digs per set.
· A win over Doane would push Concordia’s mark to 15-1 in league play, the same record it posted in 2024. The Bulldogs have already locked up the No. 2 seed in the GPAC tournament (with Northwestern securing the top seed). Since the start of the 2023 campaign, the Boldts have led the program to a combined GPAC regular season record of 44-4. The ’23 squad shared the GPAC regular season title. Concordia will place in the top three of the GPAC for the sixth time in the past seven years. As a program, the Bulldogs have also reached the GPAC tournament final in each of the past four years.
· All-American Ashley Keck has pushed her career kill total to 1,300 and has surpassed 300 kills in a season for the third straight season. In addition, Keck possesses 1,120 career digs, making her one of five players in program history with more than 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs for a career. On another note, senior setter Savannah Shelburne needs three more assists to reach 1,000 for her career.
The opponent
Locked out of the eight-team GPAC tournament, Doane will be looking to pull an upset and carry momentum into the offseason. The Tigers have dropped nine straight matches since winning at Waldorf in four sets on Oct. 3. Individually, outside hitter Brooke Larsen ranks second among GPAC players in total kills with 376. In year two under Head Coach RanDee Ochinero, Doane has increased its win total from last season when it went 9-20 overall. The Tigers are hitting .128 with an average of 11.79 kills per set while their opponents are hitting .180 with 12.30 kills per set. Concordia has taken 14 of the past 15 meetings with Doane.
GPAC tournament
The GPAC tournament will get started with the quarterfinal round on Saturday. Complete pairings will be announced by the league office after all regular season matches have concluded on Tuesday. Check back on Wednesday for a preview of Concordia’s quarterfinal matchup.