DES MOINES, Iowa - [ Bracket | Schedule | Live Stream] Pool play at the 2022 NAIA Men's Volleyball Championship concluded on Thursday as Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.), Grand View (Iowa) and Park (Mo.) punched their ticket to the semifinals. 

Championship Highlights

• Team tournament statistical leaders through two days of pool play
  • Georgetown (Ky.) 61 kills vs Indiana Tech
  • Campbellsville (Ky.) 0.456 attack percentage vs William Penn (Iowa)
  • Georgetown (Ky.) & Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) 58 assists vs Indiana Tech 
  • Georgetown (Ky.) 51 digs vs Indiana Tech 
  • Grand View (Iowa) nine aces vs Aquinas (Mich.)
  • Georgetown (Ky.) 34 blocks vs Indiana Tech 
• Individual Tournament statistical leaders through two days of pool play 
  • Joao Friedrich, Park (Mo.), 30 kills vs Ottawa (Ariz.) 
  • Kacper Dobrowolski, Georgetown (Ky.), 53 assists vs Indiana Tech 
  • CJ Bride, Georgetown (Ky.), 15 digs vs Indiana Tech 
  • Leonardo Annichini, Grand View, 4 aces vs Jamestown (N.D.)
  • Colin Donisthorpe, Ottawa (Ariz.), 7 aces vs Park (Mo.) 
• One record was broke
  • Joao Friedrick of Park (Mo.) set the new record for kills in a match at the tournament with 30 total kills 
• There are three conferences represented in the semifinals
  • Heart of America Atheltic Conference: Grand View (Iowa) & Park (Mo.)
  • California Pacific Conference: Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.)
  • Mid-South Conference: Campbellsville (Ky.) 
• Campbellsville advances to the semifinals for the first time
• Benedictine Mesa and Grand View advance to the semifinals for the third time 
• Park advances to the semifinals for the second time 

Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) def. Indiana Tech, 3-1 BOX SCORE 

Benedictine Mesa advances to the semifinals for the third consecutive time with a 3-1 win over Indiana Tech.

Match Highlights

• Benedictine Mesa maintained the lead for the entire first set of the match.
• Set two Indiana Tech battled for the lead but after a tie score of 10, the Redhawks went on a 7-3 run that would give them enough space to carry that lead to a 25-20 set two win.
• Indiana Tech stormed back in set three with a 9-2 run at the beginning. BenU worked its way back and tied the score at 21, 23 and 24 but with a kill from Chase Christiansen of IT and a BenU attacking error the Warriors took set three.
• Benedictine Mesa found their rhythm once again in set four and let for the entire set by as much as six points
• John Dawson of Benedictine Mesa led all scorers with 15 kills. Dawson’s teammate, Landon Fuller, followed with 14 kills of his own.
• Daxton Tolman of Benedictine Mesa directed the Redhawks offense with 53 assists for an average of 13.25.
• The Redhawks had two players record double-digit digs with 10 each: Charles Pollnow and Landon Fuller.
• BenU held the Warriors to 10 kills in sets 2-4.

Park (Mo.) def. Ottawa (Ariz.), 3-2 BOX SCORE

Park and Ottawa battled through a five-set match trading leads until the Pirates had the final word in set five with a 5-2 scoring run coming to a close with Joao Friedrich landing the final kill of the match for a tournament record-breaking 30 kills.

Match Highlights

• The Pirates maintained the lead through the entire first set.
• Set two started with a back-and-forth battle but at 6 all the Spirit went on a 7-1 run to take a lead that they would see through to a 25-21 set two victory.
• Set three was the most contested set of the match with 14 scoring ties. It wasn’t until the end of the set that Park put together a 5-2 run to take a two sets to one lead in the match.
• The Pirates took an early lead in set four but Ottawa chipped away at the score and went on a 7-1 run to give them a four-point lead. Park closed the gap to as much as two points but the Spirit held fast to their lead to tie things up at two sets apiece.
• Ottawa started the fifth and final set with an early lead but after a tie score at 10, the Pirates closed to 15 points first with a 5-2 scoring run.  
• Joao Friedrich of Park (Mo.) led all scorers and set a new career-high and tournament record with 30 kills in a match. The outside hitter totaled an attack percentage of 0.411 in the match averaging six kills per set.
• Caio Alves of Park and Quaid King of Ottawa picked up 12 digs on the defensive end.
• Park held Ottawa to under 0.100 attack percentage in sets 1-3.

Vanguard (Calif.) def. William Penn (Iowa), 3-1 BOX SCORE

William Penn (Iowa) may have taken the opening set but Vanguard (Calif.) answered with three set wins after that to end the Lions season with a win.

Match Highlights

• Vanguard kicked things off with a 7-1 run but William Penn chipped away at the scoring differential and tied things up at 23 and again at 24. The Statesman landed set point with an attacking error from Vanguard and closed out the set with an ace off the hand of Anthony Torres.
• The teams battled for the lead in set two but after a tie score of nine, Vanguard found their footing with a 6-2 run and would see that lead through to a 25-18 set to tie the match at one set apiece.
• WPU jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in set three but the Lions worked their way into the lead by going on a 9-2 run sparked by a kill from Kyle Anema to take set three 25-18.
• Vanguard opened set four in control with a 9-2 run and the Lions held that lead through the remainder of the set for the 25-17 win.
• Landon Krause of William Penn led all scorers with 20 kills in the match. Kyle Anema of Vanguard followed with 19 kills of his own.
• Bryce Thompson of VU directed the Lions offense with 46 total assists for an average of 11.5 assists per set.

Grand View (Iowa) def. Jamestown (N.D.), 3-0 BOX SCORE

Grand View (Iowa) defeated Jamestown (N.D.) in straight sets and was the final team to punch its ticket to the semifinals on Friday night.

Game Highlights

• Grand View started with the lead in set one and maintained that lead to a 25-15 set one win.
• GVU opened set two with a 6-2 lead and held that lead to a 25-21 set two lead.
• Grand View started with the lead in set three but UJ tied the score at nine and the teams battled back and forth through six scoring ties. The Vikings were able to capture the lead once again and with a 4-1 run the Vikings closed out set three 25-22 to win the match in straight sets.
• Daniel Galili of Grand View led all scorers with 13 kills. Samuel Jackman of Jamestown followed with 12 kills of his own.
• Francisco Arrendondo of Grand View directed the Vikings offense and posted 38 assists on the night for an average of 12.67 assists per set.
• Erick Villar-Cordero of Grand View picked up 14 total digs in the match.