The No. 12 nationally ranked Park University men's volleyball program took the sweep over Heart of America Athletic Conference opponent No. 11 Missouri Valley on Saturday for Senior Day, 25-16, 25-18, 27-25.

The Pirates move to 21-5 on the year with a 13-4 Heart record, while the Vikings go a game back at 19-5 and 12-5 of the same.

The Pirates recognized four seniors before the action, Carston Wellong, Gabriel Soares, Marcus Lucchesi, and Joao Friedrich.
 

M??, Incredibly proud of each member of this senior class! Thank you Joao, Marcus, Carston, and Gabe for making memories here at Park! #ParkProud???? pic.twitter.com/3gVvFrwnzZ

— Park Pirates (@ParkPirates) April 6, 2024

Both these teams swept the other on home their home court in 2024.

Park hit at .500 or above in the first two sets to blitz the Vikings. A 4-0 run early in the set gave Park early momentum at 8-4. Missouri Valley fought back within one at 8-7, but the Pirates harnessed the reigns again with a 9-1 scoring run to make it 17-8. The Pirates ended the first set at 25-16 and six kills were hit by Leonardo Maldonado in that period.

Park stayed on the offensive in set two and took a six-point lead at 16-10 before the Vikings challenged again with a 5-2 run to make it 18-15. Two seniors, Wellong and Friedrich got Park back in control with two kills within a 3-0 run for a 21-15 lead. Park held down the Vikings again and won set two, 25-18.

The Vikings took a 5-4 lead in set three, but Park rallied with a 4-0 run for an 8-5 lead. This was by far the closest set of the afternoon with eight ties and four lead changes. The Pirates had some distance at 19-15, but a 5-1 run by the Vikings gave them a 20-19 lead. Before long Missouri Valley had an opportunity to force a fourth set with set point, 24-22, but a timeout on Park's side turned things around, which included a kill by Friedrich and two consecutive attack errors by the Vikings for a 25-24 Park lead. A block error tied it at 25, but Friedrich ended things with a kill and a service ace for the 27-25 win.

It was a new season-high for Maldonado with 18 kills, followed by Friedrich and Nicolas Tenius' 12 and 10 kills, respectively.

Tenius led the Pirates in service aces with three, while Friedrich and Mihailo Ivanovic each had two.

Eduardo Sabi was excellent with 39 assists.

Defensively Ivanovic and Maldonado gave great effort at the net with seven and four blocks.
BOX SCORE