Concordia Volleyball has finished a season in the NAIA top 15 for the sixth-straight year. The Bulldogs appeared at No. 5 in the NAIA postseason coaches' poll announced on Dec. 18.
A group of four Bulldogs from Concordia Volleyball were named 2024 CSC Academic All-District honorees. The award winners are Becca Gebhardt, Ashley Keck, Cassidy Knust and Savannah Shelburne.
Ashley Keck (first team) and Gabi Nordaker (second team) were honored on Dec. 17 as 2024 NAIA All-Americans. Keck and Nordaker helped the Bulldogs to a 27-4 record and NAIA national quarterfinal appearance.
No matter the result, the Bulldogs stayed gritty throughout a 2024 season that upheld the program's lofty standards. The '24 Concordia team broke program records for winning percentage and GPAC wins in a season.
For her efforts in advancing the Bulldogs to the 2024 NAIA National Quarterfinals, junior Ashley Keck was named to the NAIA National Championship All-Tournament Team.
A bid for the program's first ever advancement to the national semifinals came up short on Saturday (Dec. 7) as the fourth-seeded Bulldogs were defeated by No. 5 seed Bellevue in five sets.
Three standouts for a Bulldog team still alive at the national tournament were honored on Dec. 5 by the AVCA. Ashley Keck, Gabi Nordaker and Ella Waters were each named NAIA All-Region award winners.
They weren't about to allow it this time. The Bulldogs were sharp and focused on Friday (Dec. 6) while defeating No. 13 Mount Vernon Nazarene in straight sets and locking up a spot in the NAIA National Quarterfinals.
The work of Ella Waters (14 kills) on the attack and superior defensive play led No. 4 Concordia to a win over No. 21 The Master's on the national stage. The Bulldogs are 1-0 in pool play with a match set for Friday.
An NAIA final site qualifier for the sixth-straight year, Concordia Volleyball has also excelled in the classroom. The Bulldogs put 15 team members on the list of 2024 NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
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.
As her college head coach looked on, Carli (Smith) Lindeman worked the sideline at Heartland Lutheran High School like a savvy veteran.