DES MOINES, Iowa - [SCHEDULE | RESULTS | BRACKET] Day three of the 2023 NAIA Men's Volleyball Championship pool play ended with one sweep, one four-set match and two five-set matches on Thursday inside the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex. 

The Master’s (Calif.) def. Menlo (Calif.), 3-0

The teams battled for control of the match with 14 scoring ties to open up play. At 14 apiece, The Master’s (Calif.) went on a 6-2 scoring run to create enough space for the Mustangs to close out the first set 25-21. TMU opened the second set with a 4-1 run for the early lead. Menlo quickly closed the gap as the team’s traded points. At 24-24, The Master’s was able to get the two-point run they needed to close the set from a Menlo error and an ace from Christian Menchaca. In set three, The Master’s started with the lead and maintained the lead through the entirety of the third set to win the match and advance to the semifinals for the first time.

Season Records: The Master’s (Calif.) 19-4 | Menlo (Calif.) 16-8

Game Highlights

• Nolan Flexen recorded the match-high 20 kills with only one error for an attack percentage of 0.633
• TMU hit 0.500 in two of the three sets played in the match.
• The Mustang’s led the defensive effort at the net with 17 total blocks (4 solo, 13 assisted) compared to Menlo’s six total blocks (2 solo, 4 assisted). Brett Norkus of The Master’s led the charge at the net with three of the team's four solo blocks and five of the team's 13 assisted blocks.
• The Master’s recorded only nine attacking errors in the match on 75 total attempts.

Vanguard (Calif.) def. Grand View (Iowa), 3-1

The teams battled back and forth through the entirety of set one until Vanguard (Calif.) closed out the final two points with a kill by Kyle Anema and Will Anderson to secure the set one win. The battle continued into the second set until Grand View (Iowa) capitalized on a 4-2 run at 21 all to tie the match at one set apiece. VU started and ended with the lead in set three as the Lions extended their lead by as many as seven points in the set.

Season Records: Vanguard (Calif.) 18-5 | Grand View (Iowa) 20-9

Game Highlights

• Kyle Anema of Vanguard (Calif.) led all scorers with 20 kills in the match and only one error on 30 total attempts for an attack percentage of 0.633.
• Four other players recorded double-digit kills: Vanguard – Will Anderson 17 | Grand View Daniel Galili (11, Nickolas Lima 12, Bayron Valdez 12
• The teams nearly matched each other in blocks (VU 23 assisted | GVU 25 assisted)

Park (Mo.) def. OUAZ (Ariz.), 3-2

The teams played each other close as they went back and forth trading point for point and set for set. It took a fifth set to decide who would be advancing. In set five, Park captured an early lead but OUAZ worked its way back to a 9-8 lead before the Pirates broke away with a three-point run at 12-12 to close out the set 15-12.     

Season Records: Park (Mo.) 27-1 | OUAZ (Ariz.) 14-9

Game Highlights

• Emery Outin of OUAZ led all scorers with 26 kills. Joao Friedrich of Park (Mo.) followed with 23 kills of his own.
• Both teams had two players that recorded double-digit digs. OUAZ – Tatum Gray 14, Emery Outin 10 | Park – Joao Infante 11, Samuel Essilfie 10
• ­The teams matched or nearly matched each other in several categories (OUAZ-Park): kills 60-60, assists 60-58, digs 46-46, aces 4-7, blocks 24-22
• The biggest difference in team stats was service errors OUAZ 23 – Park 13.

Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) def. Georgetown, 3-2

Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) opened set one with an early lead that after 14 all turned to a Georgetown lead after a 7-1 scoring run that would give the Tigers the space to close set one with a score of 25-19. The teams battled for the lead in set two until the Redhawks went on a five-point run that forced GC to call both of its time-outs. BenU did not allow Georgetown more than one point at a time to close the set at 25-17 and tie the match at one set apiece. The Redhawks controlled the fourth set and did not allow the Tigers the lead at any point. Georgetown closed the gap on an early five-point lead with a 9-1 scoring run that allowed GC to capture the lead and space to close the set 25-22. The Redhawks lead from start to finish in the fifth set to advance to the semifinals

Season Records: Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) 26-3 | Georgetown (Ky.) 21-8

Game Highlights

• Ryan Gunn of Georgetown and Dapre Rogers of Benedictine Mesa led all scorers with 16 kills apiece.
• Landon Fuller also recorded double-digit kills at 13. While teammate Tyler Watts recorded an attack percentage of 0.778 with 8 kills on nine attempts with only on error.
• Dapre Rogers of BenU recorded five service aces in the match.
• The Benedictine offense operated at an 0.354 clip while Georgetown posted an 0.153 attack percentage.