Park University's No. 3 nationally ranked men's volleyball program achieved major milestones in Breckon Sports Center against Graceland University on Saturday. With the sweep win, Park claims the 2023 Heart Regular Season Title and earned a new program record of 20 consecutive wins. Final scores in Park's win were 25-12, 25-17, 25-17.
Park is a perfect 20-0 during the 2023 campaign with a 15-0 Heart record. Eight of Park's wins are against teams that are ranked within the NAIA Top 15 and seven of those teams are conference opponents. The Yellowjackets fall to 5-14 and 2-12 on in conference play.
A regular season championship will allow Park to host all rounds of the Heart Conference Tournament on March 25, March 29, and April 1. This is the first time Park has earned this title in the Heart since joining the conference in 2021 and their last regular season title was in 2015.
The Pirates are led by Head Coach
Michael Talamantes who gave these remarks on his program''s 2023 success on this Pirates Post-Game.Â
Park had three sets hitting at least .400 for an average of .425, over 100 points higher than their season average of .314.
Both
Joao Friedrich and
Samuel Essilfie were dangerous today with 10 kills each. Friedrich was in a league of his own though with 10 service aces posted in the match. Not only does he garner a double-double, but he was one service assist shy of tying the NAIA single-match record for service aces.
This effect was instantly felt by the Yellowjackets early, as Friedrich had three service aces within a four-point span to give Park an 8-3 lead.
Leonardo Leao got in on the action with three straight service aces of his own to add to Park's lead, 18-10.
There was no stopping the inevitable, as Park rushed Graceland with seven of the next nine points for the 25-12 win. Park's
Mihailo Ivanovic, Friedrich, and
Joao Infante each registered kills in the waning moments of the opening set.
For the rest of the match Graceland did not hit above .080, as Park held the Yellowjackets to a .137 hitting percentage overall.
Set two began with a 3-0 run for the Pirates and as play continued, the Yellowjackets held their own and were only down two points at 10-8.
That's when Infante and Essilfie went two work with one and two kills respectively to help Park to a 14-9 lead. Infante answered the call for Park today with seven kills and five digs in a balanced performance from the freshman from Lisbon, Portugal.
The Pirates picked it up later in the set, featuring a kill by Essilfie and a double block by
Mihailo Ivanovic and
Marcus Lucchesi to put the match out of reach at 21-14.
Nicolas Tenius did the honors for Park with the set ending kill, 25-17.
Graceland's 4-2 lead in set three was short lived, as another four-spot rumbled in for Park.
Arthur Martineli started the run for Park with a kill, followed by an Essilfie kill and another pair of aces by Friedrich. Friedrich currently leads the NAIA in service aces with 56 on the season.
Park's defense has produced 2.73 blocks per set this season, which ranks No. 2 in the NAIA. The blocks were on display again today to close out the final set. Within Park's final four-point scoring spree, Martineli and Essilfie combined for a block and then Friedrich came through soon after with a solo block to put Park up 15-10.
Credit Park on another clean set to secure the sweep, 25-17.
Other key performances included
Eduardo Faquin's 34 assists, and a steady offensive display from Park's middles,
Daniel Isernhagen and Ivanovic. Isernhagen had five kills, while Ivanovic had four. Not only do they have Heart Defender of the Week awards this season, but in their careers they each have a NAIA National Defender of the Week award.
Park's season continues with a non-conference match with Central Christian College on Tuesday night at 7pm in Breckon Sports Center. Park's No. 5 nationally ranked beach volleyball team will be recognized right before first serve.
Watch the live-action here.
Box Score
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