DES MOINES, Iowa - [POOL PLAY RESULTS | SCHEDULE | BRACKET] The semifinals of the 2023 NAIA Men's Volleyball Championship were decided on Friday night in the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex. One first-time team and one four-time returner advance to the finals on Saturday night. 

Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) def. Park (Mo.), 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-23)

Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) captured an early lead in sets one and two that the team did not relinquish as the Redhawks closed out the first two set 25-15 and 25-17.

Park (Mo.) closed the gap on an early 5-2 lead for BenU at nine all. The Redhawks held the Pirates at bay until a tie score at 17, the Pirates tied the score five more times before Benedictine Mesa closed the final two points of the match.

Season Records: Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) | The Master’s (Calif.) 19-5

Game Highlights

• BenU held Park to under 0.200 attack percentage in all three sets while the Redhawks posted 0.200 or above. (Match attack percentages: BenU 0.329 | Park 0.071)
• Dapre Rogers of Benedictine Mesa and Joao Friedrich of Park were the leading scorers in the match with 11 digs.
• Benedictine led the defensive effort at the net [BenU 18 (16 assisted) | Park 3 (2 assisted)]
• This is the fourth time that the Redhawks have advanced to the finals in the four years the sport has been a championships.
• BenU is the only team remaining that has won a title (2019).

Vanguard (Calif.) def. The Master’s (Calif.), 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13)

The teams battled for control of the set until Vanguard (Calif.) captured its largest lead of the set at three points at 23-20 and closed out the final two points with a kill from Kyle Anema and an attack error from The Master’s (Calif.).

The Master’s (Calif.) created a four-point gap at 8-4 that Vanguard was not able to overcome as TMU tied the match score at a set apiece. VU was never more than four points away from TMU the entire set.

Set three saw five lead changes before The Master’s created its largest lead of the set after 16 all and went on a 9-4 run sparked by a kill off the hand of Isaac Seltzer.

An early 5-2 lead set the Lions apart at the beginning of set four. The Master’s remained close and tied the score six times but Vanguard never relinquished the lead and closed out the set 25-23.

Vanguard captured the lead early in set five and maintained that lead despite the Mustangs remaining within four points from the Lions.

Season Records: Vanguard (Calif.) 19-5 | The Master’s (Calif.) 19-5

Game Highlights

• This is the fourth time that these two teams have met and the 3^rd time that Vanguard has won against The Master’s.
• Vanguard remained consistent at the net as the team hit 0.400 or above in four of the five sets.
• Nolan Flexen of The Master’s led all scorers with 34 kills. Flexen was one kill away from matching the record he set earlier in the week against Indiana Tech.
• Two Vanguard players recorded over 20 kills in the match. Will Anderson recorded 24 kills and Kyle Anema followed with 23.
• Two players notched double-digit digs as Diego Perez of TMU posted 14 and Ryan Jew of VU followed with 10.
• This was the second time that Vanguard has played in the semifinals and the first time that the team has advanced to the finals.