Unbeaten Park Pirates take down St. Xavier for 6th NAIA men’s volleyball title
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- Park University completed an unblemished 35-0 season by winning the 2026 NAIA title.
- Park defeated St. Xavier in four sets in Cedar Rapids to claim their sixth NAIA crown.
- Adrian Figueroa was named tournament most outstanding player after a 22-kill final.
Park University claimed the 2026 NAIA national championship in men’s volleyball on Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, beating St. Xavier University in four sets.
Raising another trophy — the program’s sixth since 2003 — the Pirates put a bold exclamation point on their perfect season: They finished with an unblemished record of 35-0.
No. 1-ranked Park actually fell behind early in Saturday’s title finale at Alliant Energy PowerHouse, dropping the opening set 26-24. But the Pirates rallied to win the second set 30-28. Close finishes would be the rule the remainder of the way, though, as the final two sets went 25-22 and 25-21.
It’s just the third time this season the Pirates had found themselves trailing after a set. They collected 23 three-set sweeps this season.
The runner-up Cougars (31-4) of St. Xavier have now lost in the championship match for three straight years.
Park’s Adrian Figueroa was the tournament’s most outstanding player. Also making the all-tournament team were fellow Pirates Murillo Silva and Moises Ortiz. Park’s Mihailo Ivanovic was the tourney’s sportsman of the year.
For the match, Park hit .252 with 60 kills on 139 attacks and 25 errors; St. Xavier hit .156 with 48 kills on 147 attacks and 25 errors.
Figueroa led Park with 22 kills and 6 total blocks. Murillo Silva added 15 kills and 9 digs, Moises Ortiz had 9 kills and 11 total blocks, and Umberto Caleca dished 50 assists. Alessandro Gozzi had 17 digs.
It’s a good era for men’s volleyball around Missouri. The state’s third annual championship tournament for boys high school volleyball will take place later this month as a sport sanctioned by the Missouri State High School Activities Association.