2025 NAIA Men’s Volleyball Championship Preview
Apr 24, 2025
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Pool Play Schedule | Bracket) The 2025 NAIA Men’s Volleyball Championship will open play with pool play matches on Tuesday, April 29 in the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The tournament’s first three days, from April 29 to May 1, will consist of pool play matches. There are four pools and each pool is made up of three teams. The team with the best record in each pool, or the team with the most wins in a tie-break scenario, will advance to the semifinals. The semifinals are the beginning of single-elimination bracket play, where the winners will advance to the championship.
The 2025 NAIA Men’s Volleyball National Championship is broadcast FREE on the NAIA Channel of the Urban Edge Network and the newly redesigned NAIA Network for all matches at the final site in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For more information and to pre-register, click HERE.
The Alliant Energy PowerHouse is a clear bag facility unless the bag is smaller than 5×8”.
Quick Facts
The Heart of America Athletic Conference qualified the highest number of teams at five: Grand View (Iowa), Missouri Baptist, Missouri Valley, Mount Mercy (Iowa) and Park (Mo.).
St. Thomas (Fla.) and UC Merced (Calif.) are making their first appearance in the national championship.
Only five of the 12 teams have not advanced out of pool play, including the two teams in their first appearance.
Grand View (Iowa) and Saint Xavier (Ill.) are the only teams in the field that have qualified for all six NAIA Championships.
Three teams follow with five appearances in the tournament field: Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.), Georgetown (Ky.) and Park (Mo.).
Four of the 12 teams have competed in a championship match: Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.), Georgetown (Ky.), Grand View (Iowa) and The Master’s (Calif.).
The Master’s is the only one of those four that has not won a title.
Grand View (Iowa) leads the field in titles with two in back-to-back years, 2021 & 2022.
The defending national champions, Georgetown (Ky.), return to the championship to defend their title.
Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) holds the best championship record of the field at 14-3 after winning the first championship title and competing in the championship match the following three years. The Redhawks boast a 0.824 win percentage in NAIA Championship play.
The Master’s (Calif.) and Saint Xavier (Ill.) both boast an undefeated season to this point, with 23 and 28 wins, respectively.
Six of the 12 teams in the field also competed in the 2024 championship.
So we meet again
Pool A
The Master’s (Calif.) and Mount Mercy (Iowa) played each other in the 2024 championship, where The Master’s won 3-1.
Park (Mo.) has not played either of these teams in championship play prior to this year.
Pool B
Saint Xavier (Ill.) has played Grand View (Iowa) three different times in pool play in 2019, 2021 and 2024. The Vikings hold the advantage over the Cougars with a 2-1 record in the championship. In 2021, Grand View beat Saint Xavier en route to the team’s first title.
Grand View and Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) have played each other three different times in the NAIA postseason. Grand View holds the advantage over the Redhawks 2-1. The teams have met in the semifinals, where BenU won and advanced to win the first men’s volleyball championship title. The other two times they met were in the championship match, where Grand View won both of their titles.
Benedictine Mesa and Saint Xavier faced each other in pool play in 2023, where the Redhawks won the match in straight sets.
Pool C
Lawrence Tech (Mich.) faced Georgetown (Ky.) in the 2024 championship, where the Tigers went on to win their first title.
Missouri Valley has not played either of the teams in Pool C during NAIA championship play.
Pool D
No teams have played each other in NAIA championship play due to St. Thomas (Fla.) and UC Merced (Calif.) qualifying for the first time.