SEWARD, Neb. – Roughly three-and-a-half weeks remain in the 2024 NAIA women’s volleyball regular season. The fourth-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Volleyball team continues the GPAC grind this week as it hits the road to take on College of Saint Mary and Dordt. The Bulldogs protected the home court this past weekend with conference wins over Briar Cliff (straight sets) and Morningside (four sets). Six seniors were celebrated prior to the victory over the Mustangs. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad is enjoying another special season and sits at 16-2 overall (9-1 GPAC).
This Week
Wednesday, Oct. 16 at College of Saint Mary (13-10, 4-6 GPAC), 7:30 p.m.
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Saturday, Oct. 19 at Dordt (12-9, 6-4 GPAC), 5 p.m.
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By the numbers
· The most recent set of NAIA national ratings was released on Oct. 2. The Bulldogs remained steady at No. 4 in the coaches’ poll. Concordia has spent this entire season inside the top five and was ranked as high as No. 3. Based on the current top 25, the Bulldogs have defeated three ranked opponents: No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan University, No. 15 Viterbo University (Wis.) and No. 18 Midland. Concordia also owns two wins over teams in the “receiving votes” category: Columbia College (Mo.) and MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.). GPAC rival Northwestern (21-0, 10-0 GPAC) was a unanimous No. 1 (all 20 first-place votes) in the latest poll and remains undefeated.
· Last week was about taking care of business as the Bulldogs took on two unranked opponents. Concordia defeated Briar Cliff, 25-21, 25-13, 25-19, while outhitting the Chargers, .235 to .058, and outnumbering them in kills, 50-26. Ashley Keck led the charge with 10 kills and 13 digs. The next day, the Bulldogs shook off a downer in the first set and toppled Morningside, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-15. Concordia held advantages in hitting percentage, .215 to .133, kills, 52-45, and blocks, 10-7. In the middle, fifth-year Bulldog Gabi Nordaker was especially efficient with 13 kills coming on 22 swings. Combined statistical leaders over the two weekend home wins included Keck and Nordaker in kills (22 apiece), Nordaker in blocks (seven), Keck in digs (27), Lily Psencik in assists (40) and Kate Griess and Savannah Shelburne in aces (three apiece).
· Two current Bulldogs own top five all-time program rankings in major statistical categories. In the win over Morningside, two-time NAIA All-American Gabi Nordaker moved up a rung to No. 5 in school history for career kills with 1,320, boosting her above Rachel (Kirchner) Miller (1,315). Nordaker also ranks third in program history for career blocks with 536. In addition, senior Becca Gebhardt recently moved into the top five all-time for career digs. Her total now stands at 1,468 digs as she looks to become the fifth Bulldog to ever reach 1,500. Junior Ashley Keck has played at an All-American level this season and is closing in on the top 15 of the program’s all-time kills list. She currently has 814 career kills (No. 15 on the list is Tiegen Skains with 845).
· Concordia remains an offensive force. On the national statistical leaderboards, the Bulldogs rank second in kills per set (14.36) and 12th in hitting percentage (.243). Concordia has accomplished those lofty rankings while using a balanced attack including five players with more than 100 kills on the season: Ashley Keck (214), Ella Waters (183), Gabi Nordaker (160), Addie Kirkegaard (148) and Kya Scott (111). The offense has continued humming as it has adjusted to a 6-2 system that relies on the setting abilities of Lily Psencik and Savannah Shelburne. From a GPAC perspective, Keck (3.40 kills per set) and Waters (2.86 kills per set) rank fourth and 15th, respectively, in kills per set.
· Under the Boldts’ direction, the Bulldogs will finish with a winning conference record for the sixth straight season. In year one with Ben and Angie leading the way, a rebuilding Concordia went 5-11 in the GPAC. Since then, the league records have been 11-5 in 2019, 12-3 in 2020, 9-7 in 2021, 12-4 in 2022, 14-2 in 2023 and 9-1 so far in 2024. The totals add up to a 72-33 career GPAC mark for Ben Boldt. The ’23 team shared the GPAC regular season title. In addition, the Bulldogs have appeared in each of the past three GPAC tournament championship matches.
· Only two home matches are left this regular season. Inside Friedrich Arena, Concordia has been exceptionally difficult to beat. The Bulldogs are 7-1 at home this season (only loss was a five-set defeat vs. No. 1 Northwestern) after going 13-1 on the home court in 2023. Conversely, Concordia has also been strong on the road having won each of its first four GPAC away contests. During the GPAC era, the only Bulldog squad to go unbeaten in GPAC regular season road matches was the 2000 squad that also shared the conference championship. In ’00, Concordia went 9-1 in league play while coached by Becky Ernstmeyer.
The opponents
The Bulldogs will be aiming for a season sweep of College of Saint Mary, an opponent they defeated in Seward, 25-19, 16-25, 25-14, 25-19, on Sept. 11. The Flames began this season ranked No. 17 in the NAIA coaches’ poll but have since dropped out while enduring six GPAC losses. CSM has been a strong program under Head Coach Rick Pruett, who took the Flames to the national tournament in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. 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. This past weekend, the Flames were defeated at home by No. 1 Northwestern in straight sets before they rebounded with a four-set win over Dordt. CSM and Concordia split their two regular season meetings in 2023.
At 12-9 (6-4 GPAC), Dordt may be the most improved team in the GPAC. The Defenders were pegged eighth in the GPAC preseason poll after finishing 2023 at 4-18 overall (3-13 GPAC). Dordt has been a national championship contender in the recent past and has twice been the NAIA national runner up. Defender setters Carlee Jackson and Kelly McArthur will look to spray the ball often to pin hitters in Ellie Dokter (249 kills) and Tarren Spartz (237 kills). In this past week’s action, Dordt won at Mount Marty in four sets and then fell at College of Saint Mary in four. Head Coach Jacki Smith’s squad currently resides in fourth place in the GPAC after missing the conference tournament in 2023. The Bulldogs defeated the Defenders in the regular season in both 2022 and 2023.
Next week
The stretch run of GPAC play will continue as Concordia hosts Mount Marty on Oct. 23 and then makes a visit to Hastings on Oct. 26. Once next week arrives, only four matches will remain in the regular season.