CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The first day of the 2024 NAIA Men’s Volleyball championship featured four pool play match-ups that saw the one and three seeds compete against each other. The day was headlined by two upsets and two sweeps.
No. 11 Westcliff (Calif.) (18-7) def. No. 3 Grand View (Iowa) (24-7), 3-2 (11-25, 26-24, 25-20, 20-25, 21-19)
Set one opened with a 6-2 lead for Grand View. The Vikings extended their lead by as many as 13 points to win the opening set. GVU forced 14 errors on Westcliff while only committing five errors themselves.
The teams remained within four points of each other through the entire set. At 24 all, Westcliff closed out the set with an ace from Tom Dempsey and a block by Gabriel Pizza and Trevor Lau to tie the match score at one set apiece.
After seven scoring ties to open the third set, Westcliff took the lead on a 6-2 scoring run and extended its lead by as many as six points to create enough distance to win 25-20 and lead the match two sets to one.
The Warriors opened set four with the initial lead. GVU took its first lead of the set at 9-8 after a four-point run. The teams traded points until a tie score of 12 when the Vikings went on a 6-1 run. Grand View capitalized on the three-point advantage to win the set 25-20 and tied the match at two sets apiece.
The teams went through 12 scoring ties in the fifth set before a tie score of 19, where Westcliff took the match on two Viking errors.
Three players recorded 20+ kills in the match: Gabriel Pizza (23) and Ilias Lazaar (22) of Westcliff and Daniel Galili of Grand View (20). Lazaar posted a double-double with 18 digs along with his 22 kills.
Daniel Wong of Grand View posted an impressive attack percentage of 0.688 off of 11 kills, zero errors and 16 total attempts out of the middle.
No. 2 Vanguard (Calif.) (15-3) def. No. 10 Lawrence Tech (Mich.) (15-14), 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-21)
Vanguard opened the match with an initial lead that the Lions extended to as many as 14 points, which resulted in a 25-14 set win.
The second set opened with five scoring ties before Vanguard went on an 8-2 scoring run to gain the lead that they would see through to a 25-14 set two win.
Lawrence Tech opened the third set with an 8-3 lead. The Lions responded with a 10-point run to gain the lead that led to a 25-21 set win.
Will Anderson of Vanguard led all scorers with 14 kills and six service aces.
No. 12 Reinhardt (Ga.) (29-1) def. No. 4 OUAZ (Ariz.) (19-7), 3-1 (33-31, 21-25, 26-24, 27-25)
Through 14 scoring ties the teams battled for the opening set. Tied at 31 all, Reinhardt capitalized on two OUAZ errors that closed the set 33-31.
The teams battled back and forth until OUAZ pulled away with a 10-6 scoring run to win the second set and tie the match at one set apiece.
Another highly contested set followed with 15 scoring ties where the teams pushed past the regulation 25 points. The final scoring tie came at 24 apiece, where Reinhardt would take a kill off the hand of Victor Pacheco and seal its win in the third set on an error by OUAZ.
The teams remained close through the start of the fourth set until OUAZ pulled away with a 9-4 scoring run that put the Spirit at set point. The Eagles scored five straight points to tie the score at 24 all. A kill from Emery Outin put OUAZ back at set point but Reinhardt scored three points on two OUAZ attack errors and an ace off the hand of Addah Nestor.
Addah Nestor of OUAZ led all scorers with 21 kills and was followed by teammate Emery Outin with 19 kills.
Zeo Meyer recorded an impressive 0.727 attack percentage off of nine kills, one error and 11 total attempts.
No. 1 The Master’s (Calif.) (22-1) def. Mount Mercy (Iowa) (24-9), 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-14))
The Master’s set themselves apart right from the beginning after the team scored four unanswered points to open the match. TMU maintained its lead through the entirety of the set for a 25-18 final score.
Mount Mercy opened the second set with the first two points but The Master’s responded with an 8-3 scoring run that helped them maintain the lead to a 25-16 set two win.
After a tie score of eight in the third set, TMU went on a 12-2 scoring run that put the Master’s up by 10 points. The Master’s momentum propelled them to a 25-14 set three win that closed out the match.
Cole Oliver of TMU led all scorers with 11 points and was followed by teammate Braden Van Groningen with 10 kills.
Day two of the 2024 NAIA Men’s Volleyball Championship will feature four pool play match-ups with the 2 & 3 seeds from each pool starting at 10 a.m. CT.
Championship Information
5th ANNUAL
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
April 30 – May 4, 2024
Alliant Energy PowerHouse
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Visitors Guide
Pool Play Schedule & Results
Bracket Play Schedule & Results
Tournament Bracket
Championship Program
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SID/Photographer Credential Application
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Selection Show
Volleyball