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Westcliff wins Cal Pac, Earns NAIA berth
Posted: Apr 18, 2026

Westcliff wins Cal Pac, Earns NAIA berth

The championship game against the #1 and #2 seeds in the California Pacific Conference Men's Volleyball Championships didn't disappoint. The Westcliff Warriors overcame a first-set loss and stormed back to win three straight sets to defeat Simpson 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-21)

The scrappy Red Hawks jumped out to take a lead 14-13 in the first set. Simpson's defense was able to frustrate player of the Year Gabriel Pizza's attack consistently and made every hustle play imaginable to hold the Warriors' offense at bay as they went on an 11-5 run to win the first set 25-17.

Mr. Momentum seemed to switch jerseys back and forth as the Warriors played with a sense of urgency in the second set. Simpson, undeterred, closed the lead to one. However, Pizza served two aces in a row to give Westcliff a three-point lead 14-11. A kill by Dehryn Brown closed the gap to 15-13, but Pizza's powerful kill gave the Warriors a 17-13 lead which they would not relinquish, winning the second set 25-23.

The Warriors seemed frustrated in the third set as they were trying to figure out how to kick start their offense. Trailing 16-11 in the third, the engine started revving as they went on a 8-1 run to take a two-point lead at 19-17. Simpson rallied with run of its own, scoring 4 straight to take a 21-19 lead. Westcliff then took 4 in a row of its own to lead, 23-21, highlighted by a powerful kill by Pizza. With set point, Rodolfo Biegelmeyer's service ace gave the Warrior the second set, 25-21, and a 2-1 match lead.

In a tight fourth, the Warriors started to distance themselves as they ran up at 17-11 lead and looked to be in control of the match. Simpson, however, still had something to say about it. The Red Hawks scored three straight to shave off some of their deficit but the Warriors continued their aggressive push. Leading 20-15, Pizza's kill pushed the lead to 21-15. The Warriors took the fourth set and the match to win their second conference championship in three years.

Simpson's Dehryn Brown led both teams with 19 kills and added 9 digs totalling 22 points. Tyce Nakamura had 38 assists in a losing effort for Simpson, which loses just two seniors from this bunch.

Gabriel Pizza 13 kills and Tom Dempsey added 12. Setter Nikos Kalagasidis led both teams with 43 assists and had 2 service aces and 5 digs for the Warriors.

 

The NAIA selections will be announced Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM (PDT). Find the You Tube link here: https://www.naia.org/sports/shows

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