The No. 14 nationally ranked Park University women's volleyball program traveled to Davenport, Iowa for their final non-conference tournament of the season at the St. Ambrose Invitational. The Pirates went 2-1, fairing well against No. 17 Viterbo and Judson, but falling in a close four-set match with No. 8 Bellevue on Friday.

The Pirates are 10-3 overall and have won eight of their last nine matches, as they enter Heart of America Athletic Conference play.

The Pirates had 13.91 kills per set on the weekend with a hitting percentage of .204. The Pirates had 20 service aces on the weekend with 24 service errors, six more service aces than their opponents but also two more service errors. Park had 220 digs on the weekend with 18 total blocks as well defensively.

Leading Park was Grecia Ung with 50 kills for an average of 4.55 kills per set and a hitting percentage of .239. She also had two double-doubles and earned a new career-high with 23 digs in a single match.

Both Ung and Jullia Alvarez had two double-doubles against their two ranked opponents, Bellevue and Viterbo. Alvarez had 91 assists on the weekend, which comes out to 8.27 assists per set, while tallying 32 digs.

Defensively, Irene Verdino stood out with 61 digs for an average of 5.55 digs per set and was second on the team in service aces with five, only trailing Ung's nine.

No. 8 Bellevue | 18-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-27 | BOX SCORE

The Bruins had the upper hand in the first set with 16 kills and a hitting percentage of .297 over Park's eight kills and .000 hitting percentage. A 4-0 start for Bellevue in set one put them in a good position the rest of the match for a 25-18 win.

The Pirates turned the tables in set two with the first two points and went for a 6-2 lead to start set two. The Pirates had seven total blocks for the match, but four of those blocks came in set two, including two back-to-back blocks by Amra Kovac, Avery Caskey, and Jullia Alvarez for a 16-11 lead. Ung and Mafalda Bross closed out the set with kills for a 25-19 win. Park had its highest hitting percentage of the evening at .227.

Bellevue on the other hand it its best set in the third with a .405 hitting percentage on 16 kills, one error, and 37 total attacks. For the match they were at .191, while the Pirates were at .097. The set was tied three different times in the early going with one lead change, but a 4-0 run forced a Park timeout and permanently gave the Bruins the lead despite late life from the Pirates. Bellevue recaptured some momentum with a 25-19 third set win.

The Bruins in the middle of the fourth set again took the reigns with a 5-0 run to make it 18-12. The Pirates with their backs up against the wall put it all on the line to tie the set at 21-21. Ung had two kills and two service aces in a 5-0 stretch and Mafalda Bras and Maria Pim contributed two kills as well. The Pirates were able to overtake the Bruins 23-21, but this match would go extra points in the end. Before it was out, there were three ties at 23-23, 24-24, and 25-25; Bellevue took the final two points for the four set win, 27-25.

Ung had a double-double on 17 kills and 23 digs. Alvarez joined with a double-double on 30 assists and 14 digs.

Verdino also had 14 digs followed by a 12 dig day by Bras. Bras put up six kills as well in a balanced match from the senior.

No. 17 Viterbo | 22-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-23 | BOX SCORE

Park got back on track with a four-set win over Viterbo. The Pirates so far are 1-2 in ranked games this season with three wins over teams receiving votes.

The Pirates took a 4-1 lead in the first set, but the V-Hawks bounced back with a 5-0 run to take a 7-5 lead. The Pirates were not able to close the gap until the 19-19 mark off of back to back service aces from Daniela Gomez. Gomez gave Park three consecutive points with a kill right before her turn to serves to tie. Viterbo stopped Park short of a lead change though and took the first set 25-22.

The Pirates had a great response with three consecutive set wins to take the match in four. It was a quick lead for Park 4-0 in set two. Park ran with the lead the rest of the set for a 25-19 win. Five kills for Ung in the second set were big along with three blocks by Churin Florencia. Park had its highest hitting percentage of the match at .314.

It was a tight set three in the early going, but the Pirates captured a two point lead on a 3-0 run to make it 14-12, courtesy of kills from Bras and Avery Caskey. Another 3-0 run for Park extended the lead to 18-14, again Caskey with two kills and then Patricia Carrio Ubeda joined the action with a service ace. It was only a four-point match win Bras went up to serve, but a 6-0 run was an extremely strong finish by the Pirates, 25-16.

The V-Hawks were looking to keep the match alive in the fourth set and after going down 6-1 to Park in set four, time was running out. They came back enough to tie at 7-7, which would be the start of a long string of nine ties leading up to 18-18 mark. Angelina Rodriguez got the kill to put Park on top and then two consecutive attack errors by Viterbo gave Park a 21-18 lead. The V-Hawks gave it all they had and managed to tie the match two more times at 21 and 22 point marks, but a kill by Loes Peijnenburg and Bras shut the match down, 25-23.
Bras earned the double-double on 11 kills and 13 digs.

Ung and Alvarez also had double-doubles, 19 kills and 17 digs for Ung and 33 assists and 10 digs for Alvarez.

Verdino was up past the 20 dig mark at 22 and nearly had a double-double herself with seven assists.

Florencia had a great day at the net with four total blocks to lead Park.

Judson | 26-24, 25-12, 25-20 | BOX SCORE

The Pirates finished the SAU Invite with Judson, who played Park very closely in the opening set. The match started off with six ties to start off the match at 7-7. A service ace by Bras, solo block by Peijnenburg, and a kill from Ung lifted the Pirates to a 11-7 lead. It continued to be a set of big swings, as the Eagles tied the set at 13-all, before the Pirates railed six points in a row for a 19-13 lead. It would appear that Park would have no problems, but Head Coach Michael Talamantes took no chances with a timeout at the 21-20 mark. The Eagles a few points later tied it at 22-22 and both teams would go back and forth to tie again at 24-24. Ung and Caskey sent it to set two with a kills for the 26-24 win.

With a big set one victory under their belt, the Pirates continued to chip away with a 4-0 lead in set two. The set was a big contrast between both teams, as Park had its highest hitting percentage of the tournament at .433 compared to a .054 for the Eagles. It was a flurry of points that came in for Park, including back-to-back service aces and a kill by Florencia for a 14-5 lead. There would be no comebacks in this one, as the Pirates gripped the 25-12 win.

Credit the Eagles for playing the third set close yet again, but Park had a big swing in the middle of the set with a 5-0 scoring spree. Bras and Caskey tag teamed four kills in route to a 16-12 lead. Park continued to press ahead and were up by eight at 23-15 after a Bras service ace. The match looked closer than it was after Judson went on a 5-1 run before Park's Izabella Ceratti tagged the final point, 25-20. The Pirates had 19 kills in the third set for the sweep.

Ung and Bras led Park with 14 and 12 kills, respectively. Bras had her second double-double in a row and the third double-double in her career. She reached a new career-high in kills in a match as well.

Alvarez and Rodriguez both were in double-figures for assists with 28 and 11.

Verdino kept her side of the court untouched with 25 digs in the match as well.

Park will host its Heart of America Athletic Conference opener on Tuesday, September 16 at 7pm against Baker University. WATCH HERE