The No. 2 nationally ranked Park University men's volleyball program picked up a heroic sweep against the formidable No. 15 Mount Mercy University Mustangs on Friday night in Breckon Sports Center, 28-26, 25-19, 30-28.

The Pirates and Mount Mercy now have the same number of wins on the year, 10-1 for Park and 10-2 for the Mustangs. Park moves to 2-0 in the conference standings, while Mount Mercy is now 0-2 to begin Heart of America Athletic Conference play. Both teams have only lost to ranked opponents.

Park made it difficult for the Mustangs in set one, who had nine kills and nine attack errors. The Pirates had six total blocks, three blocks came from both of Park's middle blockers Mihailo Ivanovic and Carston Wellong. This was a sensational set with 12 ties between both teams. The Pirates, while holding the close lead, was able to stick it out in the end off of a Joao Friedrich kill, 28-26.

The Pirates hit their highest percentage of the match in set two at .478, the Mustangs did a nice job in their own right at .350 and would only improve as the match went on. In the early going, the match was tied nine times before Park went on a 4-0 run to get breathing room, 13-9. The Pirates were able to work a six-point lead that hovered around that mark until the winning point, 25-19. Five kills by Joao Infante gave a great lift to the Pirates' offense in the second set win.

This match was close through and through though, as Mount Mercy trailed by a slim margin in the early going in set three. The Mustangs swung the momentum their way after a 4-0 scoring run to overtake Park 15-13. Mount Mercy would be stingy with the lead and even led by three towards the end of the set, 20-17. Infante had two big kills to narrow the gap, 20-19, and then Friedrich tied it at 20-all with a service ace. The match was at set point with Mount Mercy leading 24-22, but a service error and two attack error flipped the lead back to Park, 25-24.The match was tied four more times, until Park secured the win with a 3-0 run on a Friedrich kill, service ace, and a match-winning Leonardo Maldonado kill.

Infante and Maldonado led the Pirates with 10 kills apiece, while Friedrich was only one kill shy of double-figure kills.

Friedrich was the only Pirate with service aces, as he nailed three.

Eduardo Sabi put in work for his hitters with 31 assists.

The Pirates had eight total blocks as a team and the Mustangs were at five.

The Pirates also edged Mount Mercy in hitting percentage at .315 to .253 for the Mustangs.

Park takes on Clarke at home on Saturday at noon in Breckon Sports Center. WATCH
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