Head Coach: Ben Boldt (127-47, 7th season)
2023 Record: 25-4 overall, 14-2 GPAC (T-1st); NAIA national qualifier
Key Returners: DS Becca Gebhardt; OH Ashley Keck; DS Cassidy Knust; MB Gabi Nordaker; MB Maddie Paulsen.
Key Losses: S Bree Burtwistle; DS Lexie Kreizel; OH Camryn Opfer; RS Carly Rodaway.
2023 NAIA All-Americans: Bree Burtwistle (First Team); Camryn Opfer (Second Team); Gabi Nordaker (Third Team).
2023 GPAC All-Conference: Bree Burtwistle (First Team; Setter of the Year); Gabi Nordaker (First Team); Camryn Opfer (First Team); Ashley Keck (Second Team); Carly Rodaway (Second Team); Rebecca Gebhardt (Honorable Mention); Cassidy Knust (Honorable Mention).
Outlook
As Head Coach Ben Boldt has been saying, “We’re going to look different.” Gone are All-Americans in setter Bree Burtwistle and outside hitter Camryn Opfer, in addition to two-time All-GPAC right side Carly Rodaway. On the plus side, a solid foundation remains in place for a program that has elevated itself into a stratosphere reserved for the elites of the NAIA volleyball world. Five-straight trips to the final site of the NAIA National Championships has created a level of expectation that is embraced inside the Concordia huddle.
The 2023 Bulldogs checked a box by sharing the GPAC regular season title and achieving a goal that Ben and Angie Boldt had implemented since arriving prior to the 2018 season. Perhaps that attainment will serve as the springboard to something more in 2024.
“Every team is built off the shoulders of the teams that have come before us,” Ben Boldt said. “I feel like we share in that with all of the people we’ve had in our program. It was really awesome for that team to accomplish that goal. You could tell the joy they had once they accomplished it. That moment is kind of a fleeting moment and then it’s like, what’s next? You’re left with the work that’s put into it and the relationships created along the way. It’s really awesome to see them accomplish that goal. We can’t get enough of that feeling.”
When January 2024 arrived, the Bulldogs turned the page and reset the team’s motto. Concordia is rallying around the mantra of “grit” while attempting to take on the “mamba mentality” that fueled former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, one of the all-time greats in his sport. From a personnel standpoint, the Boldts welcome back four All-GPAC players: middle blocker Gabi Nordaker, outside hitter Ashley Keck and defensive specialists Becca Gebhardt and Cassidy Knust. In the case of Nordaker, she made the decision to use her ‘COVID exemption’ and return for a fifth year.
When Ben Boldt says things will be different this fall, he’s referring, at least in part, to how things will look on the court. With GPAC Setter of the Year Bree Burtwistle having exhausted her collegiate eligibility, the Bulldogs have been working on a two-setter system this preseason. The varsity roster features four setters: Savannah Shelburne, Kelsi Heard, Lily Psencik and Lauryn England. Shelburne saw a small amount of varsity action in 2023. Boldt has been pleased with the development of the group since the team reported to campus on Aug. 6.
“We have our setters running with our attackers throughout the entire training process,” Ben Boldt said. “There is total trust there in finding people. There are going to be little connections that happen between setters and hitters. They may not have game experience, but they have high level training together. With the reps everyone has gotten together, it’s a fairly seamless process.”
No different than previous years, Concordia will challenge its opponents with an array of dangerous attackers. Most accomplished among them is Nordaker, a two-time NAIA All-American who has produced 1,160 kills and 458 blocks in her collegiate career. At outside hitter, Keck should see her fair share of attacking opportunities and is a rising star. Keck also possesses the skillset to play in the back row. Other pin hitters with experience include Addie Kirkegaard, Kya Scott and Ella Waters. The 6-foot-3 Waters redshirted in 2023 after transferring from Washburn University and is prepared to make an impact. In the middle, sophomore Maddie Paulsen is on her way back after suffering an injury in the GPAC Championship match.
The Bulldogs hit .257 in 2023 and plan on continuing to perform powerfully and efficiently at the net. Hitting percentages that rank near the top of the country have become a hallmark of recent Concordia teams.
Said Nordaker, “I think we have amazing attackers. We know when to kill the ball when it’s good and manage it when it’s bad. If we find a spot on the court that’s working, we home in on it. That’s something Ben and Angie have taught us to focus on. When you go up there, there’s strategy to it. We have worked very hard on in-system and out-of-system and managing everything. I think that’s where our efficiency comes from. It’s something we work very intentionally on in practice.”
In the back row, senior Becca Gebhardt is a three-year starting libero who went past 1,000 career digs last season. Gebhardt is the backbone of a senior class that includes Heard, Knust and Ashlyn Wischmeier. Nordaker has raved about the leadership of the senior class. Meanwhile, one freshman to watch in the back is Lincoln East High School graduate Shandy Fa’ali’i.
The pieces will have to come together quickly as the Bulldogs get their season started in the middle of August while faced with a challenging nonconference slate. Based on the program’s recent achievements, Concordia landed at No. 4 in the NAIA preseason coaches’ poll released on Aug. 14. The lofty preseason ranking means little to the Bulldogs at this juncture. It would be out of character for Concordia to focus on anything other than what is right in front of it. It’s time to be gritty.
“We choose that motto right at the beginning of the year,” Ben Boldt said. “We normally choose that based on what we felt like last season ended with. There’s going to be a moment at the end of the season where you have a tough opponent across the net. It’s going to come down to overcoming that obstacle and having perseverance through that obstacle. We want to prepare for that moment. Grit is about training and persevering for long periods of time. To be able to train with that mentality all the way through is going to prepare you for that moment. That’s the idea. Our players have been really gritty. They’ve overcome a lot. We’re looking forward to getting out and showing it.”
The month of August will provide a litmus test for where the 2024 Bulldogs stand. Coming up quickly, Concordia will take on four highly rated nonconference foes: No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 5 Viterbo (Wis.), No. 7 Columbia (Mo.) and No. 14 Bellevue. Those outings combined with the rigors of the 16-match GPAC schedule will have the Bulldogs prepared for the national tournament come November and December.
As for Nordaker, she’s refusing to think that far ahead. She’s all about what the Boldts have preached her entire career: the process. Said Nordaker, “The biggest thing is that we focus on the here and now. We’re not focused on the end result – it’s what we can control in the moment. We also like to think of having a ‘red card mentality’ and fighting for what we want. We’ve gotten so close the past couple of years. We just want it so bad this year. I think having that fight in the moment is going to help us succeed this year.”
Concordia will open the 2024 season this Friday-Saturday (Aug. 16-17) by hosting the Bulldog Bash. As part of the event, the Bulldogs will take on Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) and Oklahoma City University. The complete schedule can be found HERE.