Grand View (Iowa) Wins First National Invitational Title
By Katie Green, Manager of Athletic Communications and Media
DES MOINES, Iowa – [BOX SCORE] The Grand View (Iowa) Vikings captured their first National Invitational title with a 3-1 win over Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) on Saturday night in the Charles S. Johnson Wellness Center.
Benedictine Mesa took the lead right out of the gate in set one and held an 8-3 lead. The Vikings however, came back with a six-point run. From that point on, Grand View retained a narrow lead to a 25-23 set one victory.
The teams battled for control in the second set with 17 total scoring ties. Despite a late push by the Redhawks, Grand View had just enough of an edge to finish the set, 25-21.
BenU Mesa led early in the third set and held off a late push by the Vikings, as the Redhawks finished on a 4-2 run to push Grand View to a fourth set.
GVU took the lead early in set four and maintained that lead to a 25-17 fourth set
Tim Johnson of Grand View led all scorers with 17 kills. Logan Adcock of Benedictine Mesa and Felix Chapman of GVU followed with 16 kills of their own.
Alfredo Batista of GVU and Jaron Jones of Benedictine Mesa matched each other with 40 assists in the contest.
Jesus Izaguirre of BenU Mesa posted the highest total of digs in the match with 14.
2018 Sportsman of the Year Award – Jesus Izaguirre, Benedictine Mesa
National Invitational Most Valuable Player – Felix Chapman, Grand View
National Invitational Coach of the Year – Donan Cruz, Grand View
All-Tournament Team
Jeff Lam – Lourdes (Ohio)
Kyle Foley – Missouri Baptist
Logan Adcock – Benedictine Mesa
Jaron Jones – Benedictine Mesa
Tim Johnson – Grand View
