RECEIVING WINS

By Brandon Petersen

No. 14 Westcliff Men's Volleyball stacked two more wins Friday at the Park Invitational, pushing its early-season record to 3–0 with victories over two teams receiving votes in the NAIA rankings at Park University in Missouri.

Westcliff opened the day with a four-set win over Governors State (RV), rebounding after dropping the first set to claim an 18–25, 25–22, 25–21, 25–16 victory. The Warriors followed with a dominant straight-sets sweep of Reinhardt (RV), winning 25–20, 25–10, 25–19 in the afternoon match.

Against Governors State, Westcliff showed composure after a slow start, tightening its execution and controlling the final three sets.

Rodolfo Biegelmeyer led the offense with 10 kills, while Gabriel Pizza added 10 kills and 11 digs in an all-around performance. Middle blocker Tiago Silva was efficient at the net, posting eight kills on .636 hitting with six block assists.

Setter Nikos Kalagasidis directed the offense with 32 assists as Westcliff outlasted Governors State in extended rallies and wore down the Jaguars as the match progressed.

In the second match, Westcliff hit .400 as a team and never trailed, overwhelming Reinhardt with balanced production and strong play at the net.

Tom Dempsey delivered one of the most efficient performances of the day, finishing with nine kills on .692 hitting, while Pizza led the team with 10 kills. Biegelmeyer added seven kills, and the middle tandem of Silva and M'hamed Mifdal combined for seven kills without an error.

Head coach Alex Griffiths said the Warriors showed growth and maturity across both matches.

"Today was a great second day," Griffiths said. "We showed maturity by stacking our matches and getting 1% better — a core principle from our team book, Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy, focusing on daily growth, not perfection. We know what we can produce and hold ourselves to the expectation of being great."

Griffiths credited the team's leadership and offensive balance for the strong showing.

"Nikos did a great job running our offense and creating depth, and offensively we executed on all cylinders," Griffiths said. "Our middles, Tiago and M'hamed, were exceptional once again in their execution. It was great to see our seniors — Rodolfo Biegelmeyer, Tom Dempsey, Gabriel Pizza, and Nikos Kalagasidis — our captains — perform at a high level."

Westcliff will conclude play at the Park Invitational on Saturday, facing Morningside and host Park as the tournament concludes.