Park University's No. 8 nationally ranked men's volleyball program held nothing back against (RV) Missouri Valley College on Tuesday night, vanquishing the Vikings in straight sets, 25-20, 25-18, 25-13.
Park keeps taking steps forward in the Heart with their fifth straight conference win and are 6-0 for the season. The Vikings came into the contest with only one loss, but now stand at 5-2 and 2-1 in the Heart.
The Pirates and Vikings were even in kills in set one with 11. This was the most kills in a set by either side tonight. Park was much cleaner in set one with a .529 attack percentage on 17 total attacks and only two errors. Missouri Valley, on the other hand, hit .143 on 21 total attempts and eight attack errors.
Needless to say, Park was able to leverage this for a first set win, 25-20. In the early going, the match was fairly back and forth with eight ties and three lead changes that crept up to a 12-11 score, Park.
The momentum turned after a Missouri Valley service error, a double-block by Park's stout Serbians,
Mihailo Ivanovic and
Veljko Stojic; and a
Joao Friedrich service ace. The three-point scoring run forced a Viking timeout at 15-11.
The Pirates were able to keep the intensity high and upped their lead by one by the end of the set, 25-20.
Park created early separation in both the second and third sets, reaching a 6-1 one advantage in set two and an even greater feat in set three with a 10-1 scoring wave.
In set two, the lead never felt like it was in jeopardy since the Vikings trailed by as much as eight and never had a clear path to reduce the deficit. The Pirates spread the ball out among targets with five different Park players earning a kill in set two for the 25-18 win.
Aside from the 29 errors in the match by Missouri Valley to give Park the edge,
Joao Friedrich and
Samuel Essilfie put in work in the last set with five kills between them. On the match, Friedrich led the Pirates with nine kills and only had two errors in his 17 attacks for a .412 attack percentage. Essilfie was also quite effective with six kills in the match.
Park stayed on the offensive and matched the Vikings in the last moments of set three to earn the 25-13 sweep victory.
Park's two middles,
Daniel Isernhagen and
Mihailo Ivanovic were automatic on their attacks with only one error between them and combining for a .889 attack percentage. Isernhagen had five kills, while Ivanovic was three-for-three on his attack attempts.
Isernhagen made his way to the production area for a Pirate-Post Game. You can find the full interview on the
Park Athletics YouTube Channel.
The Pirates defensively performed well with 14 block assists compared to only two block assists for the Vikings. The afore mentioned one-two punch of Ivanovic and Stojic led Park with three block assists each.
Not too many long rallies occurred tonight, as Park's leader in digs was
Eduardo Faquin with six. Faquin is coming off his first Heart Setter of the Week award and continues to supply Park with great connections to potential hitters with 20 assists this evening.
Five service aces rolled in for Park, including three from Friedrich. He now has 18 service aces through six matches ranking him fifth in the NAIA in that category.
Park shifts gears and moves into a second bout of non-conference matches in the 2023 Pirate Invitational on Friday and Saturday, February 10-11 in Breckon Sports Center. The Pirates begin on Friday with Morningside University at 2pm and No. 6 Georgetown College at 7pm. On day two of the tournament, the Pirates close out the weekend with a 1:30pm match with Ottawa University. Â
Watch the live-action here.
Box Score
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