The No. 6 nationally ranked Park University women's volleyball program played two matches over the weekend's 2023 Park Classic matches in Breckon Sports Center, starting with a 3-1 win over University of Saint Mary and a sweep of No. 14 Ottawa University on Saturday.
Park lifts themselves up to 6-2 on the season with more non-conference play to come in October, but the torrent of Heart of America Athletic Conference play will now begin on Tuesday, September 12 against Missouri Valley College.
Park vs Saint Mary Box Score – 9/8
Saint Mary entered the contest at 6-3 and stunned the Pirates early in the match, coming back to take set one. The Spires held Park to its lowest hitting percentage of the evening at .179 in set one. A 6-0 run to tie the set at 16 put them in position to steal a set, 25-22.
Park looked like a different team in set two with a 6-0 run to begin the second set and they were able to maintain a six-point margin at 17-11. Five kills by the Pirates' outside hitter
Grecia Ung was monumental in getting the offense back on track for the 25-17 match equalizer. Ung led Park with 13 kills and three service aces in the match, while also being one dig away from another double-double.
The third set was tightly contested throughout with five ties during the set. Park was six to one on Saint Mary in blocks in the set and made it difficult for the Spires to get a spark.
Debora Bernardi contributed four kills in set three to help the Pirates arrive at a 25-21 victory.
The grand finale in set four was an emphatic victory for Park as a tame 8-5 lead for Park got ratcheted up to 15-5 on account of the 7-0 scoring spree.
Barbara Almeida had two kills and a block in that stint. The match was put to bed not long after as the Pirates had plenty of wind in their sails for the 25-11 victory.
16 Pirates made appearances in the match, including Pirate debuts from
Serena Arruda and
Avery Caskey.
Arianna Marino delivered a double-double on 41 assists and 10 digs, the freshman from Pinerolo, Italy has demonstrated mature play through the non-conference schedule.
Defensively, Park had their season-high in total blocks with 16 on Friday night. Almeida was phenomenal with seven of those blocks.
Irene Verdino and
Malaina Hensley kept the ball off the hardwood as well with 24 and 12 digs, respectively.
Park vs Ottawa Box Score – 9/9
The final match of the weekend featured an NAIA Top 25 matchup between Ottawa and Park. The Braves have been trending upward this year and have impressive performances in a sweep against pre-season ranked No. 11 MidAmerica Nazarene and a five tussle with No. 7 Missouri Baptist earlier this week.
Park was up for the challenge on their homecourt and began the match with a riveting 25-23 set one win. The Pirates looked in control in set one, but began pulling away after an 11-10 lead. After this point, an 8-2 run would ensue for Park to give them the 19-12 lead. It was an balanced attack by Park with Almeida earning three kills in set one, and her teammates
Izabella Ceratti and Hensley giving three kills each. The Pirates were fortunate to have built up the lead because it vanished as quickly as it came. Ottawa never overtook Park in the set, but were only down one-point at 20-19. A kill and two blocks by Almeida and company gave relief to a hard-fought set one.
The Pirates had to comeback in set two, down four at 11-7 to the Braves. Park took the next three points to force a Braves' timeout and then both teams traded points for the next several rallies. At 14-all, a five-point run gave the Pirates a 19-14 lead.
Malaina Hensley was lights out with three kills in that five-point span, finishing with a double-double on 13 digs and a team-leading 12 kills. This effectively shut the door and Park raced to a 25-18 set two win.
Set three featured Park's highest hitting percentage of the match at .302 and they hit .252 as a team for the match. They began by securing the first three points on Ottawa, until the Braves leveled the playing field at 8-8. Five ties occurred in the set and things were turning for the Braves as a four point run elevated them to their largest lead of the day at 17-13. The Pirates countered masterfully though with a 9-1 scoring run for the 22-18 turnaround. Verdino found soft spots in the defense with two service aces in a row during that shift in momentum. Park took care of business to close out the set, as Hensley and Almeida ended the match on kills.
Almeida had a breakout match and reached a new season-high of 11 kills. Ung as usual was in double-figures with 11 kills to boot.
Marino was two for two double-doubles this weekend with 40 assists and 12 digs.
The victory celebration turned to a birthday chant for Bernardi on Saturday, and she was also featured in this Pirate Post-Game interview.
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Missouri Valley College was the only team Park did not play at the 2023 Park Classic, but they won't wait much longer to square off. The Vikings will be back at Breckon Sports Center to face Park at 7pm on Tuesday, September 12 to begin Heart play.
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