Park University's No. 8 nationally ranked men's volleyball program were back on Claude English Court on Saturday for a match with inner-league opponent, No. 11 Missouri Baptist. The Pirates were ready in this contest and took the match in straight sets, 25-14, 25-21, 25-19.

Park is out to a perfect 12-0 record this season and are 8-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play. Missouri Baptist is now 8-4 and 6-3 on the season after yesterday.

This is Park's fourth win against a nationally ranked team in 2023, all of which were ranked at No. 11 or better at the time of the match.

The match started with the lowest attack percentages by either side in set one. Park hit .067 on five kills, four errors, and 15 total attacks; while Missouri Baptist hit -.042 on eight kills, nine errors, and 24 total attacks.

Four blocks solo blocks created a wall at the net for Park in set one, led by Joao Friedrich with two, and his teammates Veljko Stojic and Mihailo Ivanovic were contributors as well with a solo block each.

Ivanovic had three blocks on the day and shared his thoughts on a Pirate-Post Game interview. 

M??, A special game for our Serbian player Mihailo Ivanovic ended in a well-deserved win for the Pirates! ???? pic.twitter.com/RlJdj9mFZ5

— Park Pirates (@ParkPirates) February 18, 2023

Missouri Baptist came out with a 5-1 lead, but the Pirates countered with a five-spot to tie the match at 6-6. The second half of the set was where Park found their stride and another run of five to take the 20-12 advantage, and the last five points went to Park as well to emphatically win set one, 25-14.

Park was also gifted six points off Missouri Baptist service errors. The Spartans had 15 service errors in the match, while Park had nine of the same.

The second set was the best hitting set for the Pirates. Park hit .435 with 12 kills and only two errors.  

Friedrich was leading the way in set two with six kills. His teammate Samuel Essilfie was also deadly with four kills during the set. No wonder these two were the high-scorers for Park with 13 kills and eight kills, respectively.

Park looked to be in control in set two, but the Spartans put a rally together to turn a 16-12 deficit into an 18-16 lead over the Pirates. Missouri Baptist forced a Park timeout with six straight points.

A momentum shifting block by Friedrich and Daniel Isernhagen, and a Stojic kill tied the match at 19-19. Park did not miss their opportunity and grabbed the last six-of-eight points for the 25-21 win. Friedrich sent both teams to set three with his third service ace of the match.

After a 10-5 start for Park in the last set, it went back and forth by both teams, until the Spartans managed to tie it at 17-all. Park proved to know how to finish off sets in this match and captured the win on an 8-2 run, 25-19.

22 assists were awarded to Eduardo Faquin, and not a lot of digs were registered by either side. Only 15 digs per team were recorded for the match. Leonardo Leao had the most for Park with four.

Culver-Stockton College awaits the Pirates on Tuesday night in Canton, Mo. for a 7pm match. Watch the live-action here.

Box Score