Once Rachel Miller experienced it, she held on and never let go. The former All-American volleyball star and past Bulldog head coach remains deeply rooted within the Concordia and Seward and communities.
A veteran and battle-tested bunch of Bulldogs picked up where they left off in the fall and enjoyed a spring of continued development. The spring season, which included a matchup with a Big Ten foe, was about preparing to 'level up' in 2023.
It will be another highly anticipated Concordia Volleyball season. The 2023 schedule was announced on Friday (April 28). The regular season is slated to feature 24 matches, including 12 at home.
Four seasons of college volleyball are in the books for Bree Burtwistle and Camryn Opfer, but they aren't ready to let go. The two All-Americans will return in 2023 in pursuit of a GPAC championship Concordia Volleyball covets.
Plenty of movement took place on the all-time record books during the 2022 campaign. Concordia reached its highest ever position in the national poll while Camryn Opfer climbed into the top five all-time in kills and digs.
A group of six Bulldogs from Concordia Volleyball were recognized as 2022 NAIA/NCAA D-III All-Midlands Team selections by the Omaha World-Herald. Camryn Opfer and Gabi Nordaker were named to the primary eight-person team.
It was another season of national prominence for Concordia Volleyball, which was led by a senior class that trusted the process throughout four years. The likes of Gabi Nordaker and Camryn Opfer helped lead the Bulldogs to a No. 4 national ranking.
Three Bulldogs garnered 2022 All-America status, as announced by the NAIA on Friday (Dec. 9). Both Gabi Nordaker and Camryn Opfer landed on the second team while Bree Burtwistle was named honorable mention.
As announced by the AVCA on Friday (Dec. 2), Angie Boldt has been named the NAIA West Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year while Gabi Nordaker, Camryn Opfer and Bree Burtwistle garnered all-region player accolades.
The fourth-ranked Bulldogs came up one win shy of advancing beyond national tournament pool play for the fourth year in a row. Concordia was held to .070 hitting by No. 13 Park and fell in four sets on Friday (Dec. 2).
The 2017 Concordia volleyball team will look very different than the 2016 version. The Bulldogs spent this spring adjusting to life without an accomplished senior class. Head coach Scott Mattera discussed the status of the program.
The Concordia volleyball program entered this fall with high hopes. The team's 15-19 overall record was not what anyone associated with the program had in mind, but the outlook is positive for 2017 and beyond.
The odds said Concordia volleyball had almost no chance of winning when it trailed 24-19 in the third set versus Morningside on Sept. 17. The Bulldogs then rallied for perhaps the greatest comeback in program history.
The Concordia volleyball program hopes to continue its upward trajectory with a big 2016 season. Scott Mattera's squad is loaded with key returners from its 2015 national tournament qualifier.
A talented, fun-loving group of seniors helped Concordia volleyball to new heights in 2015. Now they look forward to even bigger goals in 2016.
Yes, baseball pitching drills were part of the spring secret to gaining more explosiveness at the net. Head coach Scott Mattera also believes his team made strides this spring in regards to its passing.
In 2015, the Concordia volleyball team set new records and achieved goals that had never been reached in the history of the program. After a 10-21 season in Scott Mattera’s first year in 2012, the head coach developed a team that improved to 26-9 in the most recent season.
The current class of Concordia volleyball seniors knows exactly what it’s like to watch a program rise from near the bottom of the conference to the heights of a national tournament berth.
The making of a national tournament volleyball team at Concordia did not happen overnight. The core of the first Bulldog squad ever to break through and reach the national tournament all arrived in the last two to four years.
A fifth-straight appearance in the Tachikara - NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll yielded the first top-15 ranking for the Concordia University volleyball program since October of 2000.