ON THE MAP

By Brandon Petersen

Make no mistake about it, the NAIA men's volleyball world is now fully aware of Westcliff University.

If the Warriors didn't make their point last season by shocking the world and winning the Cal Pac ring, then claiming a win in the tournament, they most certainly did this weekend at the 2025 Park Invitational, hosted by Park of Missouri, which is rated No. 6 in the nation.

The Warriors are No. 8 for a reason, and even though Park outlasted Westcliff Saturday in four (25-18, 17-25, 31-29, 25-21), the Warriors proved a tough beat for the home team, this their fifth game in three days, all two time zones from home.

Bravo, Warriors. Get home safe.

The Dubs got in done in Game 1 against Ottawa Saturday, 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-21).

Rodolfo Biegelmeyer and Tom Dempsey starred in the show once again, splitting a team-high 12 kills. They both picked up five digs on defense as well.

Gabriel Pizza (five digs) and Connor McCann were close behind with nine and eight, respectively.

Tiago Silva (four blocks) chipped in five and Nikos Kalagsadis (six digs) had four. Kalagsadis spectacular in the middle as well, setting up 44 teammates on winners.

The Warriors were particularly impressive in the match after starting slow, which is to be expected in the morning game the third day of a tournament.

After playing so well on the first two days, they could have simply packed it in after dropping the first set, tipped their cap and called it a successful tournament, no matter what happened in Game 2.

But the Warriors are better than that.

They were better than Ottawa Saturday, and they proved it, winning three straight sets to storm into the tournament finale with the hosts.

The Warriors battled against Park, especially in an epic, emotionally decisive third set that lasted for 60 exchanged points.

Biegelmeyer led the way once again, this time with 14 kills and five digs.

Pizza had 11 and five, and Silva had eight and four, with five more stuffs for the imposing middle blocker.

Dempsey had six kills and McCann had five.

Pawel Tuz patrolled the middle against Park, picking up another 40 assists, giving him 85 in his last two starts.

Head Coach Alex Griffiths did a phenomenal job in the offseason setting up a challenging schedule for the Warriors, and the gauntlet continues for quite a while before their first home match.

The Dubs face five straight road matches against nationally-ranked opponents, including at top-ranked The Master's on February 12^th.

Ducking no one, the Warriors will be battle tested by the time the postseason arrives.

Keep your popcorn ready.

This is going to be a lot of fun.