It was a hard-fought game through and through, as Park delivered Mount Mercy its first loss of the season. Park is now 4-0 to begin the year and 3-0 in the Heart, while the Mustangs post 3-1 and 1-1 records. 

The first set came down to the wire, as 15 ties and eight lead changes transpired in a point-for-point type of set. In the end, one of the largest scoring runs of three straight points for Mount Mercy boosted them to the 24-22 lead over Park. Once again, these clubs traded points to stamp the set win for the Mustangs over Park, 25-23.

There were already more swings in set two with Mount Mercy starting off 4-1 over the Pirates. One of the largest rallies of the afternoon came next to the amount of eight consecutive points for Park to claim the 9-4 lead.

The Mustangs put Mihailo Ivanovic's Heart Defender of the Week accolade to the test, only to have three block assists sent back by the freshman middle blocker. Joao Friedrich and Samuel Essilife were in on two of those blocks as well with their Serbian teammate.

Park grew their lead to six midway through the set at 12-6 and 14-8. Ivanovic struck again with a solo block to give Park an eight-point lead, 17-9.

In the closing stretch, the Mustangs made it a match, bringing it within three points to force a Park timeout at 24-21. A service error the next point by Mount Mercy tied the match score at 1-1 with a set two score of 25-21.

Set three was almost a direct replica of the first set, except for the final result. During the set it was as point for point as you could get, as the largest lead in the set was two and that did not come until the final point was registered. No team scored more than two points in a row, but Park did capture the last four-of-five points for the 28-26 victory.

In the set, Essilfie had three kills of Park's last four points and he was the man of the match with 22 kills. Defensively, he played well with eight digs and four block assists.

Park kept the momentum rolling into set four with a 5-3 lead. The lead grew to five for Park after three unanswered Pirate kills, one by Essilfie and two by Friedrich.

Friedrich was on pace with Essilfie today with 19 kills and six digs for the match. Both of these offensive weapons have been tremendous assets for Park and have bolstered Park with double-digit kills in all but one match this season.

The Pirates expanded their lead and the Mustangs trailed by as many as eight in the set, 24-16. Daniel Isernhagen did the honors of capturing match point with his 12^th kill of the match on a hitting percentage of .556.

Both teams drew strength from off the block today. Park recorded 21 block assists and two solo blocks, while Mount Mercy was 18 and two of the same. For Park, four Pirates had at least four block assists, including Essilfie, Isernhagen, Friedrich, and Ivanovic.

For the match, Park held the hitting percentage advantage of .268 to .209. The Pirates only got stronger after each set and earned attack percentages north of .350 in the last two sets, while the Mustangs best attack percentage was a .273 in set one.

There were plenty of free points given away by both sides, Park recorded 14 service errors and Mount Mercy had one more at 15.

Eduardo Faquin was the wind in the sails for the Pirates with 55 assists and 11 digs for his first career double-double.

Leonardo Leao played determined defense with 22 digs in the match, his new career-high.

Park has passed the early road test and will face another quality Heart opponent, Missouri Valley, on Tuesday, February 7 at 7pm inside Breckon Sports Center. Watch the live-action here.
Box Score