Once the new semester came and the calendar flipped to 2024, the Concordia University Volleyball program turned the page from the “Jordan Year” to the “Kobe Year.” As Head Coach Ben Boldt detailed, the Bulldogs spent the spring cultivating the “Mamba Mentality” that propelled Kobe Bryant (who used to wear No. 24, hence the ‘Kobe Year’) to greatness. In Kobe’s words, that mentality is “about attacking what’s in front of you with passion and purpose, without fear and doubt and without an ounce of quit.”
Those are the types of characteristics that the ’24 squad hopes to embody as it works on defining itself throughout the offseason. For Ben and Angie Boldt, there is no need to overhaul a process that has yielded incredible success. This is year seven leading the program for the Boldts.
“It sets the foundational mindset for who this team wants to be,” said Ben Boldt of the spring season in an interview with 104.9 Max Country. “We work a lot on connections. We always go back to our core values. People expect to work hard during this time period. Being able to connect as a group allows you to work hard together and to work towards a common goal. Setting the foundational mentality is really important. That’s what we’ve been working on a lot. Last year was 2023, so that was our Jordan Year. This year is 2024. This is our Kobe Year. We’ve been working a lot on grit and that Mamba Mentality with this group.”
Coming off a 25-4 campaign that included the program’s first-ever No. 1 national ranking, Concordia has begun the process of reloading with a roster that will have a different look. For the first time since the 2018 season, the Bulldogs won’t be able to lean upon Seward’s own Camryn Opfer. The Bulldogs are also working on replacing a fellow All-American in setter Bree Burtwistle. Meanwhile, the returnees include All-American middle Gabi Nordaker and All-GPAC honorees Becca Gebhardt, Ashley Keck and Cassidy Knust. Nordaker (1,160 career kills) will serve as an anchor in what will be her fifth season wearing Bulldog Blue.
This spring, Concordia added to the mix a pair of transfers in pin hitters Masa Scheierman (South Dakota State University) and Ella Waters (Washburn University). The younger sister of Creighton basketball star Baylor Scheierman, Masa was named to the Summit League All-Freshman Team in 2022. As for Waters, she redshirted last season after transferring. What this means is that Boldt will again roll out a powerful attacking lineup, not unlike previous years.
Indications were strong this spring that the Bulldogs will remain a team to be reckoned with on the GPAC and NAIA national stages. Concordia completed closely with an in-state NCAA Division II powerhouse program as part of this semester’s schedule. More than anything, the focus is on what’s inside the program. The Boldts have created a culture where reward is felt even through the monotonous routine of perfecting the basics.
“The word this year is ‘grit,’” Boldt said. “We’ve been going over a lot of what that Mamba Mentality means. That’s something that Kobe coined when he was playing. It’s not necessarily about going for a result. It’s a quest to try and be better today than you were yesterday. That’s who we want to be. Grit is about persevering through long periods of time. It’s a daily thing that we want to embrace as a group. That’s who we want to be.”
It’s natural for outsiders to ask about who will take over the setter position that has been a position of strength for many years thanks to the likes of Tara Callahan and Burtwistle. Boldt addressed that question as part of his recent radio interview with Bulldog Coaches Show host Parker Cyza. There are four setters on the roster who have continued their development this spring. Boldt isn’t ruling out the possibility of employing a two-setter system this fall.
“It’s a fun team,” said Boldt of the roster makeup. “We’re definitely going to look different than we have the last couple of years. I think we have really good players on our roster that are going to be really successful. It’s been cool to see Ella Waters come in. She had time to be able to practice and get acclimated to our team. She’s done a really good job this spring. Our setters are a group that are competing. Kelsi Heard is a senior for us that’s been setting in our program for a long time. Savannah Shelburne, Lily Psencik and Lauren England are all getting after it. That’s a big group that we’ll have to have figure out. We have a really big group of pin attackers. At any point in time, we can throw a ball up to somebody and they’re going to go after it and take a rip. That’s something that’s exciting to see as we figure out how that all fits together.”
Another highlight of the spring was the alumni game that took place on April 13. The alums provided a great test for the current team. The alumni squad included many recent Bulldogs such as Burtwistle and Opfer. The alumni game has become a staple of the spring and a means to close out the spring with a competitive but fun environment. Concordia also attended an Omaha Supernovas match and met with team president Diane Mendenhall, who coached the Bulldogs from 1996-99.
“It was awesome to be able to see the people we’ve coached in the past and to see them sticking within the sport,” Boldt said. “They put together a good team. They had Cam swinging on the outside and Carly (Rodaway) on the right. Some of our former middles, Kalee Wiltfong, Emmie Noyd and Morgan Nibbe, were swinging in the middle. They were ready to compete. It was really fun to see all that stuff. A lot of them are still in volleyball. Emmie is the head coach up at Cross County and Kalee’s now the head coach at Deshler. It’s awesome to have them in the game and be part of the program. Everything we do is built off the work they put in. Really awesome to share that with them. They’ll always be part of it.”
The 2024 schedule was officially announced on April 19. It can be found HERE. The Bulldogs will open the new season at their own Bulldog Bash set for Aug. 16-17. Concordia will also take part in events like the Columbia Power Quad and the College of Saint Mary Labor Day Classic. The grind of the GPAC season will follow on the heels of those matchups.
“It’s going to be a grind,” Boldt said. “That’s always the best word for it because that’s what it is. That conference schedule prepares you for national competition. We have a standing goal of where we’re doing things at a GPAC championship level. That’s been a motivator and driver for our team that we win the conference regular season and conference tournament. We won a share of it last year. That never guarantees anything in the future. We’re excited about it. It’s going to be tough.”