The Weekly Serve: February 1st - 7th
- Danny Amezquita
- Apr 16
- 2 min read
It’s week three of the NAIA Men’s Volleyball season, and we have seen some high-quality volleyball among the conferences. The road to Cedar Rapids starts now.
Mohamed Benkrid of Morningside (Iowa) is your NAIA Volley Report Defender of the Week after a dominant opening weekend. Benkrid helped propel the Mustangs to a perfect 4–0 week, dropping just three sets across four matches. He tied his season-high in blocks against Hastings (NE), anchoring a defense that has Morningside rolling at 12–1 on the year.
Murillo Silva of No. 8 Park (Mo.) put together a dominant offensive weekend in Parkville, racking up 39 kills on a blistering .555 hitting percentage across two matches. Silva was a driving force behind an undefeated weekend, playing a pivotal role in statement wins over NCAA Division II Rockhurst and Missouri S&T.
Alonzo Vega of No. 9 Campbellsville (Ky.) has been named NAIA Volley Report Setter of the Week. Vega guided the ninth-ranked Tigers to three straight wins in Indiana over St. Ambrose, No. 10 Benedictine Mesa, and Judson. CU sits at 10-0 with its best start since 2020.
Bethel (IN) is our Team of the Week after kicking off the season with a plethora of firsts for the Pilots. RV Bethel has earned receiving votes and secured historic wins over RV Lourdes and RV Cornerstone. Add it all up, and the Pilots are off to their best start of the season—sitting at 5–0 overall and 4–0 in WHAC play.
Upsets of the Week
UHSP def. No. 4 Georgetown (Ky.)
RV OUAZ def. No. 14 Westcliff (Calif.)
RV Reinhardt (Ga.) def. No. 10 Benedictine Mesa
Oakland City (IN) def. No. 10 Benedictine Mesa
RV Cornerstone (MI) def. No. 7 Lawrence Tech (MI)
Under-the-Radar Wins
Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) def. Goshen
RV Bethel (IN) def. RV Lourdes
Life (Ga.) def. Brescia
Sideline Scoop
“This is our best start in program history. 5-0 feels great, but there’s a long season ahead of us. There have been a lot of “first time in program history”, starting with being named Receiving Votes in the NAIA, beating (RV) Cornerstone, and (RV) Lourdes. Those are huge accomplishments for us, but we are not done yet. I’m very proud of this team and looking forward to the rest of this season. GO PILOTS!“ — Head Coach Cerame, Bethel Pilots
In his response to their best start in program history since 2020
Winning Streak Watch
No. 1 The Master’s Mustangs extend their streak to 31 straight victories. The Mustangs have continued their streak with two more massive wins over Concordia University Irvine.
Up next: They will play Vanguard University back to back as they will travel to Costa Mesa, Calif., on Feb. 20th and then will host the Lions at The McArthur Center the following day.
Milestone Moment
Bethel (IN) got its first program win over Lourdes in a dramatic reverse-sweep.
Morningside (Iowa) takes down NCAA Division-II Jamestown at home.
Park (Mo.) sweeps NCAA Division-II Missouri S&T in straight-sets.
Players. Upsets. Breakouts. That’s your weekend in NAIA volleyball. Stay tuned — we’ll be back next Sunday with more highlights and surprises!
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