Park University's No. 5 nationally ranked men's volleyball program closed out their weekend with a premiere match against two of the top teams in the NAIA on Saturday. No. 7 Mount Mercy University was slated against the Pirates and Park hoisted the victory flag in four sets, 25-16, 25-13, 22-25, 25-19.

This is the second time this season that these two teams have gone four sets. In their first meeting on February 3, Mount Mercy took the 1-0 advantage setting into motion a three-set comeback by Park. The Pirates are now 8-1 all-time against the Mustangs and have not dropped a match inside Breckon Sports Center against the challenger from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Park is well on track in the 2023 season and celebrate their 15^th consecutive win, while bumping up to 11-0 in the Heart. The Mustangs are have come on strong this season with 11-3 and 8-3 records on the season and in the conference.

The Pirates were at the height of their blocking effort today with a season-high 17 total blocks. The match with No. 12 Grand View University on February 14 is the highest number of blocks per set this season though, as Park denied 15 blocks that night in only three sets.

The Pirates were able to take control in set one with a slight 6-3 lead out of the gate. A kill to start the match by Joao Friedrich and a triple block by Daniel Isernhagen, Marcus Lucchesi, and Friedrich set the tone early for the first few points of the afternoon.

The Pirates gained more ground as the set went along and by the end of the match, Park captured six of the last eight points for the 25-16 victory.

Six blocks came in during the first set for Park, which held the Mustangs to their lowest attack percentage fo the day at -.061. The Pirates rallied to the net as a unit, but the charge was led by Isernhagen's seven blocks in the match and another impressive five block performance by Veljko Stojic.

This is the third time in Isernhagen's career he has earned seven blocks in a match and he has shown he is capable of even more with his career-high of 10 blocks in a match at Grand View last season.

Set two was a big flex for Park with a 6-1 lead to begin the set. Mount Mercy bounced back to cut the deficit down to just three at 14-11, but the Pirates opened the flood gates in the remaining moments of the set. A series of nine straight points burst in for the Pirates for the 23-12 lead. Two aces were fired by Friedrich in that span and Park tacked on the last two points for the 25-13 win.

Friedrich has been a commanding presence on the court this season and led both sides with 22 kills and hit .500. He nearly made a double-double with seven digs as well. Today he was on for his second Pirate Post-Game of the season after an important Heart match.
 

M??, Joao Friedrich walks us through that third set and what it took to finish the match as a team in this Pirate Post-Game with @MSKC_Brennen! #GoPirates?????
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— Park Pirates (@ParkPirates) February 26, 2023

A 3-3 tie began the third set and Mount Mercy answered the call with two consecutive points for the 5-3 lead. They led by as much as four a couple different times, but ultimately took a set back from Park, 25-22.

Set four was back-and-forth through the first portion of the set. Mount Mercy led 7-6 before Park rallied for the next four out of five points to overtake the Mustangs, 10-8. Park held on to a four-point lead at 21-17 and could feel the energy in the air to close out the set.

The next three points gave Park its largest lead of the set, 24-18, courtesy of an Ivanovic block, and kills by Joao Infante and Gabriel Soares. With match point hanging in the balance, Infante drove down the match deciding kill, 25-19. Infante is only a freshman from Lisbon, Portugal, but he has stepped in nicely with three kills and four digs in two sets played.

Eduardo Faquin, part of Park's long list of talented freshmen, had a double-double on the match with 50 assists and 10 digs. This marks his second double-double of the season.
Leonardo Leao gave an excellent effort as well with nine digs in the match.

Samuel Essilfie was the only other Pirate in double-figure kill numbers with 10, but defensively he played a marvelous role with seven digs.

Besides their blocking ability, Isernhagen and Stojic were great options to go to with seven kills each.

The Pirates travel next to (RV) Missouri Valley College on Tuesday, February 28 for a 7pm match in Marshall, Mo. Watch the live-action here.
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