The No. 2 nationally ranked Park University men's volleyball program were in for an all out battle against the Spartans of No. 12 Missouri Baptist University on Tuesday night. Park pulled out the victory in St. Louis, Mo. in five sets, 25-22, 25-17, 20-25, 24-26, 15-13.

This was the Spartans first loss of the season and they now match Park at 9-1 on the year. This was the opening match of Heart of America Athletic Conference play for both teams so Park gets the leg up there.

It's always such a tough match to play on the road against the Spartans, entering the match Park was only 1-11 at Missouri Baptist's place since 2014. The historical series now rests at 39-30 in favor of the Pirates.

Park was looking the part with a hitting percentage of .333 in set one and upped it to .550 in the second set. The Pirates only had five errors in the first two sets combined.

An 11-5 start for Park in set one was a big boost out of the gate. Off the serve, both teams were going at it. A service error and a service ace by Leonardo Maldonado gave Park a 13-7 lead. A service error, two service aces, and a kill by the Spartans put them back in it at 13-11. At this point on, Joao Friedrich was called upon in a big way, as he thundered five kills for the 25-22 win in set one.

Another great start was claimed by Park in set two. Joao Infante got in on the action with a kill and service ace to help give Park an 8-3 advantage. Missouri Baptist fought to get back within three, 13-10, but the Pirates turned it on again with kills from Maldonado and Mihailo Ivanovic for the 20-16 lead. The Pirates added to the lead to end the set with a 25-17 win.

The next two sets was a reversal by the Spartans for the tie. For the match Missouri Baptist would have the higher hitting percentage of .173 compared to Park's .129. 12 blocks were registered by the Spartans in the third and fourth sets, while the Pirates were at four in those sets.

It came down to a fifth set where the Pirates would taste victory, 15-13. Park would benefit from four attack errors and five service errors by the Spartans, including an error on the serve to close the match.

Friedrich was outstanding with 19 kills and four service aces.

Eduardo Sabi made it happen with a double-double on 39 assists and 13 digs.

Joao Bonanoni was also in double-digit digs with 12 for the match.

Carston Wellong and Ivanovic kept the Spartans honest up the middle with four block assists each, and one solo block coming from Ivanovic.

Park will be at home in their next conference duo with No. 15 Mount Mercy University at 7pm in Breckon Sports Center. WATCH
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