KANSAS CITY, Iowa – (Pool Play Schedule | Bracket) The 2023 NAIA Men’s Volleyball Championship will open play with pool play matches on Tuesday, April 11 in the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Quick Facts

• This is the fourth year that the championship has been hosted by Grand View (Iowa).
• There are 12 teams that advanced to the final site. Eight teams automatically qualified for the tournament through their conference, three teams were selected as at-large qualifiers by a selection committee made up of administrators and coaches from across the country and the final team qualified with a host berth.
• There are four teams that have qualified for every championship since the sport moved to championship status in 2019: Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.), Grand View (Iowa), Park (Mo.) and Saint Xavier (Ill.). 
• Two teams in the field have won a title: Benedictine Mesa (1) and Grand View (2)
• Nine teams that qualified in the 2023 field were also qualifiers in 2022 championship: Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.), Georgetown (Ky.), Grand View, Indiana Tech, Jamestown (N.D.), OUAZ (Ariz.), Park, Saint Xavier, Vanguard (Calif.)
• There are three new teams to the championship field that are qualifying for the first time: Menlo (Calif.), The Master’s (Calif.) and Webber (Fla.)
• The Golden State Athletic Conference qualified the highest number of teams out of a conference with four teams in the championship field.
• Two of the 12 qualifying teams (Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) and Vanguard (Calif.)), have all been ranked in the Top 5 of the Coaches’ Top 15 poll for the entire season.
• Four of the 12 qualifying teams (Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.), Grand View (Iowa), The Master’s (Calif.) and Vanguard (Calif.)) have been ranked No. 1 at some point during the 2023 season.
• Teams to watch

• • Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) – The Redhawks return to the championship field after building a championship record of winning the first national title and finishing as the runner-up the last two years. BenU enters the field with a 21-game win streak. The team’s last loss was at the hands of The Master’s (Calif.) in February. Benedictine Mesa is ranked No. 1 in the nation in hitting percentage (0.366) and No. 1 in the last two Top 15 Coaches’ Poll.
  • Park (Mo.) – The Pirates return to the championship field after qualifying all four years men’s volleyball has been a championship and advanced out of pool play the last two years. Park has been rated in the top five in the last four Top 15 Coaches’ Poll. The team is ranked No. 1 in the nation in points per set (17.3) and blocks per set (2.68). The team has only one blemish on its record at the hands of conference opponent Missouri Baptist.
  • The Master’s – The Mustangs have qualified for the championship for the first time. TMU earned is way into the tournament with an automatic bid after winning the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament. The team is No. 1 in the nation in kills per set (13.25). The Mustangs enter the tournament with an eight-game win streak.
  • Vanguard (Calif.) – The Lions qualified for the championship for the third consecutive year while the team advanced out of pool play in its first year as a qualifier. Vanguard remained inside the Top 5 in the Top 15 Coaches’ Poll and was rated at No. 1 for the second and third time in school history.

• Players to watch

• • Nolan Flexen of The Master’s (Calif.) – leads the nation in hitting percentage (0.437). The outside hitter has totaled 335 kills on the season out of 599 total attempts and 73 errors. Flexen is also second in the nation in kills per set (5.00) just .07 from No. 1.
  • The remaining top 5 in the nation in hitting percentage are also qualifiers in the championship including Kyle Anema of Vanguard (Calif.) (0.396), Konrad Stoklosinski of Menlo (Calif.) (0.374), Landon Fuller of Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) (0.373) and Ryan Gunn of Georgetown (Ky.) (0.356).
  • Joao Friedrich of Park (Mo.) – leads the nation in service aces per set (0.84). The outside hitter has totaled 58 service aces on the season.
  • Derek Correa of Jamestown (N.D.) – is second in the nation in assists per set (11.06). The setter totals 852 assists on the season.

• The first three days of the tournament will consist of pool play matches. Pools are made up of three teams each and the teams that have the best record in each pool or win on a tie-break scenario advance to the semifinals.
• The semifinals are the beginning of single-elimination bracket play with the winners advancing to the championships.
• The NAIA Network– the association's official video-streaming home – will broadcast all matches excluding the championship match live at the 2023 NAIA Men’s Volleyball Championship in West Des Moines, Iowa. The video platform, powered by Presto allows users access to live video, statistics and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95 and a championship package is available at $29.95. The championship match includes all pool play and semifinal matches.

• The championship match will be streamed on ESPN3.