The No. 17 nationally ranked Park University women's volleyball team returned from a road trip that saw multiple razor-thin losses that nonetheless added up to a four matching losing streak in Heart of America Athletic Conference play. This streak would end on Saturday, as the Pirates triumphantly dispatched of the Culver-Stockton College Wildcats in three sets.
This improved the Pirates record to 17-7 overall, and back to .500 (4-4) in conference play. Meanwhile, the Wildcats dropped to 12-9 overall and currently sit in eight place in the conference with a 4-5 record. This win may play out to be critical when it comes to hosting conference tournament games later this year. With the win, Park moved into sixth place in the conference, but are tied for fifth place in the loss column.
The Pirates got off to a fast start in the opening set, taking an early 7-3 lead behind a couple strong kills from seniors Izabella Ceratti and Aly Anderson, as well as some ball handling errors by the Wildcats. The reworked Pirates lineup included more game action for Luna Martins and Maria Pim, and they contributed with some quality opening set defense and offensive firepower respectively. Culver-Stockton would play more evenly with Park from that point on, but decided to use their first timeout of the set down 14-10.
Coming out of the timeout, Anderson craftily placed a kill along the backline, but a couple of attacking errors by Park would see the Wildcats pull within two. After a net violation was called on Angelina Rodriguez, Park would use their first timeout of the set with the score now evened up at sixteen each.
Soon after, Avery Caskey delivered a hard shot to the open center of the floor, and Rodriguez picked up the first ace of the match for Park, which spurred the remaining Wildcats timeout to be called. The Pirates would build on those plays to go on a 9-4 run to close out the first set 25-20.
The Pirates served first in the second set, and the blocks were out in full force to help Park jump out to a 6-1 lead that necessitated the first Wildcats timeout of the set. However, that did nothing to stem the tide, and Ceratti delivered a hard strike down the middle of the floor on the way to growing the advantage to ten points.
The waning moments of the second set saw several short side sets that allowed Caskey to pummel the ball to the hardwood, and Irene Verdino had multiple diving saves to keep the play alive for Park. Pim finished off the second set by sending an overpass back to the Wildcats side, and Park went up two sets to none with a 25-14 victory.
The Wildcats scored the first two points of set three, and a couple of net violations called against Park saw them down 7-1. However, Park would go on a run of their own out of the timeout, and Mafalda Bras deflected a ball off the Wildcat defense to get the score within one point. The match would remain close before Park got their first lead of the set at 13-12. Park would assert their advantage from that point on and closed the match out with a sweep on a ball that deflected off the roof speakers.
Notables
With multiple starters continuing to be out with injury, Ceratti and Caskey led the way on the offensive side of things with 21 and 12 kills, which were the highest and second highest kill total on either side. Rodriguez performed excellently after returning to the starting line up with 40 assists and a pair of aces as well.
Three Pirate players reached double digit digs with Mafalda Bras leading the way with 17. Verdino followed her with 14, and Anderson picked up 10 to round out the Pirate defense.
The Pirates brief respite from the road ends on Tuesday, when they will be facing the Columbia College Cougars in Columbia, Mo at 6 p.m. This is a rematch of the national tournament pool play game last year that saw the Pirates season end in a 3-0 loss to the Cougars. WATCH HERE
Box Score
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