Upset Special: Dubs Topple Mighty Ben U

By Brandon Petersen

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try again. 

The twelfth time was the charm for the Westcliff men's volleyball team Friday at UC Merced, where the Warriors took down three-time reigning Cal Pac champion, Ben U, 3-1, in the Cal Pac tournament semifinals. 

After falling to Benedictine in the Cal Pac championship match a year ago, and still staring at an 0-11 all-time goose egg against the Redhawks, Westcliff simply would not be denied in a contest that turned out to be a bit of a runaway win when all was said and done. 

After a back-and-forth first set the Warriors claimed at 31-29, Ben U took a tight second set 25-23. 

But Westcliff ran out to an 8-1 lead in the all-important third and sailed to a 25-21 win with a four-point margin most of contest, then made all the important plays in a decisive fourth set the Warriors eventually claimed at 25-23. 

Fittingly, the final kill came off the hand of Gabriel Pizza, Westcliff's spiritual leader and the Cal Pac's Attacker of the Year, and the deed was finally, finally, finally done. 

"It feels great," Westcliff head coach Alex Griffiths said. "We've been waiting for this win for three years. We expected to come out a little stronger throughout the season and take them the first two times we played them. So there were a lot of chips on our shoulders adding up. 

"We're just excited to take this next step and eliminate them in the semis. It's pretty big."

Pizza finished with a game-high 21 kills and was absolutely fantastic, but he was not alone.

Tom Dempsey (10 kills), serving off-handed was a revelation at the line, leading the way with accuracy on a day the Warriors were outstanding at the stripe, and minimized mistakes. 

Pawel Tuz was remarkable, setting up teammates on 43 assists, and collecting 11 digs in a game he played wire-to-wire.

Trevor Lau (seven kills) and Connor McCann (eight kills) were stalwarts in the middle, while Leonardo Garcia (five digs) and Trevor Meyer (three digs) were critical contributors on the back-end. 

Lukas Pusvaskis was only credited with four kills, but all of his winners felt like momentum capturing moments and he was particularly accurate from the stripe as well. 

All-in-all, the Warriors played error-free volleyball, and it was obvious from the jump they simply wanted it more. 

Now Westcliff must turn its attention toward host UC Merced, who will undoubtedly enjoy a decided home-court advantage in the championship match. 

Griffiths was asked what it would take for the Warriors to be successful Saturday.

"Moving on from this game," she said. "We're going to be on a really big high, we're gonna be pumped. But we have to stay grounded and continue to work on what we have all year. Do the little things. Keep it simple.

"It's going to be tough. We're going to be in (the Bobcats') home gym, so we have to play 1-percent better on everyone's part."

The Cal Pac championship will begin at 2 p.m. at UC Merced. 

Westcliff Men's Volleyball Postseason Awards

Cal Pac Attacker of the Year

Gabriel Pizza

Cal Pac First Team

Gabriel Pizza

Lisati Vaiala

Cal Pac Second Team

Ilias Lazaar

Cal Pac Honorable Mention

Pawel Tuz

Cal Pac Champion of Character

Trevor Meyer