Warriors Upset #3 Grand View

Warriors entered the 2024 NAIA National Tournament overall as the #11 Seed in the Tournament.

They would face #3 Grand View making their 5th straight National Tournament Appearance. The Vikings also won 2 NAIA Banners previously in the tournament.

Westcliff had a tough draw. 1st set saw the Vikings experience shine through quickly jumping to a 1-0 lead.

Warriors were able to respond going up 2-1 behind excellent play from Ilias Lazaar, Gabriel Pizza and Pawel Tuz. Grand View was able to force the 5th set.

The 5th set showed to be the most exciting from the tournament. Both teams were exchanging points after points never extending the lead past 3.

Warriors and Vikings both hit above .344 in the final frame. 

Match point for the Warriors for the 8th time in the final set. An attacking error from the Vikings gave the Warriors the final point. Their 1st win in the National Tournament.

Westcliff in their 1st National Tournament Appearance grabbed their 1st win and the biggest upset in the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Tournament History. 

Standout Performances

Ilias Lazaar had a fantastic match hitting for 22 Kills with 2 Service Aces and Match High 18 Digs. His 2nd straight 20+ Kill match.

Gabriel Pizza led the team and the match with 23 Kills along with 2 Blocks. This is his 4th 20+ Kill match.

Pawel Tuz dished out an impressive 50 assists match with 6 Kills and 12 Digs.

Tom Dempsey earned 6 Kills with 9 Digs and a Solo Block.

Leonardo Garcia held it down in the back court with 13 Digs and 7 Assists.

Trevor Lau led the team at the middle with his 3 Blocking Assists.

Connor McCann also was able to grab some important Kills with 5 and 2 Blocking Assists.

Westcliff will finish up their pool play against #6 Saint Xavier tomorrow game time at 8:00am PST