SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia University Volleyball team picked up two wins last week and got the help it needed to keep GPAC regular season championship hopes alive. In the final full week of regular season action, the fourth-ranked Bulldogs went on the road and defeated Mount Marty in three sets and then toppled Hastings at home in four sets. Those results pushed Head Coach Ben Boldt’s team to 20-2 overall (13-2 GPAC). The regular season will conclude on Tuesday with a trip to Midland. The Warriors are riding a five-match win streak.
This Week
Wednesday, Oct. 31 at No. 18 Midland (14-9, 10-5 GPAC), 7:30 p.m.
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Wikert Events Center (Fremont, Neb.)
Saturday, Nov. 4 vs. Opponent TBD, 7:30 p.m. (GPAC Quarterfinals)
--Max Country | Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Friedrich Arena (Seward, Neb.)
--Admission: $10 for adults/senior citizens, $3 for K-12; only those with NAIA passes and GPAC student ID’s are admitted free of charge.
By the numbers
· The potential for a three-way tie for first place in the GPAC standings exists after a weekend that saw No. 1 Northwestern go the road and defeat No. 12 Jamestown in four sets. Concordia, Jamestown and Northwestern each sport identical 13-2 league records and are tied for first place. If those three squads finish with 14-2 GPAC marks, each would earn trophies as regular season champions. For the purpose of the GPAC tournament, the tiebreaker would be based on percentage of sets won in conference play. Through 15 GPAC regular season matches, Northwestern has won 86 percent of its sets (43/50), Concordia has won 83.3 percent of its sets (40/48) and Jamestown has won 73.2 percent of its sets (41/56). If those percentages hold up, the Red Raiders would earn the No. 1 seed and an automatic bid to the national tournament. To close the regular season, Northwestern will be at Briar Cliff and Jamestown will host Dakota Wesleyan.
· Due to two losses since Oct. 14, the Bulldogs slid back to No. 4 in the NAIA coaches’ top 25 poll released on Oct. 25. Northwestern moved into a tie with Indiana Wesleyan University for No. 1 while Eastern Oregon University remained in the No. 3 slot. Other ranked GPAC teams are No. 8 College of Saint Mary, No. 12 Jamestown and No. 18 Midland (while Morningside received votes). The season profile for Concordia includes four wins over current top 25 teams: No. 7 Park University (Mo.), No. 8 College of Saint Mary, No. 12 Jamestown and No. 18 Midland. According to Massey Ratings, the Bulldogs have played the nation’s 17th most challenging schedule.
· In last week’s action, Concordia won by scores of 25-17, 25-11, 25-18, at Mount Marty and 25-15, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23, versus Hastings. Over those two matches, the Bulldogs outhit their opponents, .246 to .088, and outnumbered them in kills, 99-72. The individual kills leaders for the week included Camryn Opfer (26), Ashley Keck (22) and Gabi Nordaker (15). In addition, five Concordia players recorded at least 17 digs: Becca Gebhardt (32), Bree Burtwistle (19), Opfer (18), Keck (17) and Cassidy Knust (17). On the national leaderboard, the Bulldogs now rank third in hitting percentage (.273) behind Columbia International University (S.C.) (.285) and Indiana Wesleyan (.275). Concordia has been held below the .300 mark in four of the past five matches. Its .493 percentage at Mount Marty was the highest this season against a GPAC opponent.
· In conjunction with senior day, Gabi Nordaker announced that she will be returning to the team in 2024 and will use her ‘COVID year’ of eligibility. The Millard West High School product has been at the heart of the greatest successes in program history. Nordaker has starred for two Bulldog squads (2020 and 2021) that reached the NAIA national quarterfinals. Since she joined the program, Concordia has posted a combined record of 82-25 while regularly appearing inside the top 10 of the NAIA coaches’ poll. In 107 career collegiate matches, Nordaker has tallied 1,098 kills and 426 blocks. She was named an NAIA Second Team All-American in 2022 and has twice been recognized as First Team All-GPAC.
· The Seward High School product Opfer enters the week needing only 11 more kills to reach 1,500 for her career. That’s a feat only two other players in program history have achieved: Becky Ernstmeyer (1,740) and Katie Werner (1,600). Opfer has already surpassed 1,500 career digs (1,579) and ranks fourth in school history on that list. She’s closing in on Jocelyn Garcia (1,594) for third place all-time in digs. In five seasons as a Bulldog, Opfer has played in 138 matches (490 sets) and has also tallied 200 blocks and 80 aces.
· The rivalry between Concordia and Midland has been an intense one in recent years. The Bulldogs got the better of the Warriors in this season’s first meeting, 25-16, 25-22, 25-21, in Seward. Midland won both of last season's regular season get togethers before Concordia earned a measure of revenge with a five-set triumph on the Warriors’ homecourt in the GPAC semifinals. So far in 2023, the Bulldogs have gone 6-1 against their in-state GPAC opposition. They have earned season sweeps of Doane and Hastings and split with College of Saint Mary.
· Since beginning his tenure as Bulldog head coach in 2018, Ben Boldt owns an overall record of 122-45 for a winning percentage of .731. Earlier this season, Boldt moved past Rachel Miller (107-125) for No. 3 on the program’s all-time wins list. The top two head coaches on that list are Berniece Jones (181-200) and Vicki Boye (167-136).
The opponent
Midland has trotted out a more youthful team in 2023 after the departures of All-Americans Taliyah Flores and Hope Leimbach. Things have come together lately for Head Coach Paul Giesselmann’s squad, which has won five matches in a row. That stretch included a four-set victory at No. 8 College of Saint Mary last week. The team’s go-to attacker is Seward native Abbey Ringler, who has totaled 224 kills while hitting .245 in the middle. Setters Brena Mackling and Brielle Power have also frequently relied upon the likes of Lauren Williams (198), Cortlyn Schaefer (165) and Jacki Apel (163). On the season, Midland is hitting .182 while limiting its foes to a .133 percentage. The Warriors reached the national semifinals in 2022 and appear poised to make the program’s 10th all-time trip to the national tournament in 2023.
2023 GPAC Tournament
Pairings for the 2023 GPAC tournament will be announced by the conference on Tuesday night once all regular season matches have been completed. Dates for the GPAC tournament are Nov. 4 for the quarterfinals, Nov. 8 for the semifinals and Nov. 11 for the championship match.