The No. 12 nationally ranked Park University men's volleyball program were in Des Moines, Iowa on Tuesday evening and were defeated by No. 5 Grand View University in four sets, 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 16-25.

Park closes out the regular season at 21-6 and 13-5 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, sealing the No. 3 seed in the Heart Conference Tournament. The Vikings are the No. 1 overall seed, bumping up to a 20-6 and 14-4 overall record.

Both teams have wins against the other at their respective home courts this year. The Pirates previously swept the Vikings on March 12.

The Pirates got after it early with their highest hitting percentage of .333 in set one, while Grand View was not far off at .308.

There were 11 ties in set one and down 7-4, the Pirates went on a key 4-0 run to grab the 8-7 lead. After Grand View briefly regained the lead, the Pirates tied it 10-10 on a Leonardo Maldonado kill, which spurred on a 7-3 run to gain a 3-point advantage, 16-13. It would continue to be a series of back-and-forth play on both sides, before Joao Friedrich gave Park a one-point lead with a kill, 23-22. Grand View tied at it 23, but Friedrich combined with Mihailo Ivanovic for a double-block and then Friedrich finished the set with a service ace for the 25-23 win.

Park got down early in the second set, but were able to tie it at 15-15 and 16-16. A 3-0 run got the Vikings rolling though with a 19-16 lead out of a Park timeout, Nicolas Tenius earned a kill, but another 3-0 run took the Pirates out of it at 22-17. Grand View would hold on for the 25-20 win.

Another early lead by the Vikings emerged in set three, but with a score of 10-7 Grand View, things got worse for the Pirates as the Vikings scored four unanswered points for a 14-7 lead. The Vikings led by as much as nine in the set, but good fight was shown by the Pirates to work things back to 19-16. A three-point spread would be the best Park would get to though, as another 25-20 win was awarded to Grand View.

The final set was the biggest win of the evening, and Park hit -.097 compared to Grand View's .318 in the final set. Four different 3-0 runs by Grand View came in set four, including a pivotal run that turned a 2-point Park deficit into a 5-point Grand View lead at 12-7. The final seven of nine points were captured by the Vikings to earn a Co-Regular Season Heart Championship with No. 4 William Penn, 25-16.

The offense was spread fairly evenly among Friedrich, Tenius and Maldonado. Friedrich led with 13 kills, while Tenius and Maldonado each offered 11 kills apiece. Friedrich did an excellent job serving with six service aces.

Grand View as a team had 13 total blocks to overshadow the Pirates' six of the same. Ivanovic led the blocking numbers with four block assists. Making it happen defensively as well was Veljko Stojic who had 12 digs to lead both teams.

Eduardo Sabi had an outstanding day with 37 assists as well.

Park looks to their Heart Quarterfinals match with No. 6 seeded and No. 15 nationally ranked Mount Mercy University on Saturday, April 13 in Breckon Sports Center. The first 100 students get in free, but otherwise Park's ticket prices will apply for the post-season match. WATCH
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