The Braves finished 2023 with an overall record of 9-12 and a GPAC mark of 4-6. Ottawa did finish its last 12 matches strong with a record of 8-4. Three of those losses were to the University of Jamestown.
Last season, Ottawa averaged 9.6 kills per set, 8.9 assists per set, 2.4 blocks per set, 1.4 service aces per set, and 9.4 digs per set. OU had a .203 attacking percentage.
Akeil Williams led OU, in 2023, in kills with 209. He averaged 3.03 kills per set and had a .342 attacking percentage.
Andrew Salinas led the Braves with 330 assists, averaging 4.7 assists per set. Williams also led OU in blocks with 100. He averaged 1.45 blocks per set.
Kevin Davidson was OU's leader in digs with 143 on the season. He averaged 2.07 digs per set.
The Braves finished the 2023 season ranked 50th in the NAIA in kills per set (9.6), 35th in attacking percentage (.203), 48th in assists per set (8.9), 42nd in service aces (98), 30th in service aces per set (1.4), 17th in reception errors (125), 48th in digs (651), 21st in digs per set (9.4), 24th in solo blocks (51), 26th in block assists (231), 26th in total blocks (167), fourth in blocks per set (2.4), 24th in blocking errors (23), seventh in ball handling errors (19), 48th in points (928.5), and 42nd in points per set (13.5).
OU had four players earn All-GPAC honors in 2023.
Akeil Williams was a First Team selection and
Grant Younie and
Kadeem Morris were Honorable Mention selections.
Friday's match against Westcliff University will be the third meeting between the two teams. Ottawa leads the series, 2-0. OU won the first match between the two teams on Jan. 19, 2022, 3-2. The Braves defeated WU in the second contest between the two teams on Jan. 27, 2023, 3-2. This will be the first time that OU has played the University of Rio Grande, NCAA Division II Missouri S&T, and Brescia University.
Westcliff University finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 14-11 and a conference mark of 10-2 to finish second in the Cal Pac Tournament. Gabriel Pizza was named Cal Pac Newcomer of the Year and earned First Team honors. Llias Lazaar, Pawel Tuz, and Leonardo Garcia were named Second Team. John Rzepniewski was an Honorable Mention selection.
In 2023, the Warriors averaged 11.4 kills per set, 10.9 assists per set, 1.5 blocks per set, 1.1 service aces per set, and 9.09 digs per set. They had a .208 attacking percentage.
Gabriel Pizza led Westcliff in kills with 369. He averaged 3.9 kills per set and had a .240 attacking percentage. Pawel Tuz led WU in assists with 811, averaging 8.7 assists per set. Leonardo Garcia led the team in digs with 205, averaging 2.5 digs per set. John Rzepniewski led the Warriors in blocks with 60, averaging 0.6 per set.
Westcliff finished 2023 ranked 22nd in the NAIA in kills (1,065), 27th in kills per set (11.4), eighth in errors (536), 18th in total attacks (2,546), 32nd in attacking percentage (.208), 22nd in assists (1,020), 25th in assists per set (10.9), 38th in service aces (103), 26th in service errors (312), 48th in service aces per set (1.11), 17th in receptions (1,672), 29th in reception errors (110), 20th in digs (845), 37th in digs per set (9.09), 21st in solo blocks (54), 42nd in block assists (184), 38th in total blocks (146), 42nd in blocks per set (1.57), 19th in blocking errors (26), 50th in ball handling errors (5), 23rd in points (1314.0), and 33rd in points per set (14.1).
Rio Grande finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 7-18 and a conference mark of 2-6 to finish fifth in the Mid-South Conference. The Red Storm ended the season on a four match losing streak. Caden Donaldson was named First Team All-Mid-South while Same Kaylor and Ethan Johnson earned Second Team honors.
The Red Storm finished the year averaging 10.2 kills per set, 9.3 assists per set, 1.5 blocks per set, 1.4 service aces per set, and 9.3 digs per set. Caden Donaldson led Rio Grande in kills with 309, averaging 3.5 per set. He had a .230 attacking percentage. Mitch Bartecki was the team's leader in assists with 380. He averaged 7.60 assists per set. Bobby Meifert led the team in digs with 244. He averaged 2.8 digs per set. Sam Winhoven was the Red Storms' leader in blocks, averaging 0.8 per set.
Rio Grande was ranked 34th in the NAIA in kills (890), 45th in kills per set (10.2), 15th in errors (509), 23rd in total attacks (2406), 45th in attacking percentage (.158), 34th in assists (817), 46th in assists per set (9.3), 25th in service aces (126), 13th in service errors (361), 24th in service aces per set (1.4), 16th in receptions (1,674), 14th in reception errors (134), 27th in digs (811), 28th in digs per set (9.3), 49th in solo blocks (31), 35th in block assists (199), 45th in total blocks (131), 48th in blocks per set (1.5), 34th in blocking errors (20), 14th in ball handling errors (16), 36th in points (1146.5), and 46th in points per set (13.2).
Missouri S&T enter the Pirate Invitational with a 1-0 record. The Miners defeated Dominican 3-0, finishing the match with 48 kills, a .310 attacking percentage. 43 assists, three service aces, and 49 digs. Aaron Sallade led Missouri S&T with 18 kills and Nate Meyer finished with 12 kills.
The 2023 season was the Miners' first year of men's volleyball and finished the year with a record of 12-9. Missouri S&T plays as a NCAA Division I Independent. Nate Meyer led the Miners in kills with 278, service aces (43), and digs (104). Brayden Kuruzovich was the team's leader in assists (422) and Grogan Kraus led the team in blocks (47). Meyer was named to Off the Block's Freshman All-American Team.
This is the first season of men's volleyball at Brescia University. The Bearcats will be coached by Jerry Forbes who coached the women's volleyball team at BU from 2012-2018 and Lindsey Wilson College from 2019-2022.
