The No. 9 nationally ranked Park University men's volleyball program made their 24^th appearance at the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championship Tournament this past week and went 1-1 in Pool Play as the No. 8 seed. The Pirates swept No. 9 Mount Mercy, but the overall No. 1 seed The Master's University won in straight sets in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The Master's would go on to win the national championship with an undefeated record of 27-0. Park ended the season at 20-7 overall, while Mount Mercy stood at 22-8 on the season.

Mount Mercy, W 3-0 | Box Score
This was the second matchup in 2025 between Park and Mount Mercy, as cross division opponents in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. The Mustangs got the 3-2 win over the Pirates on Feb. 21 on Mount Mercy's home court, but at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse the Pirates had the upperhand with a 3-0 victory, 25-23, 26-24, and 25-23.

This was a close matchup through and through, but Park gained some ground over the Mustangs in set one with a 4-0 run, with a Mount Mercy timeout after the third point, to take a 21-16 lead. Two service aces by Adrian Figueroa was monumental in this pivotal sequence. Mount Mercy was able to get two separate 3-0 runs to make things interesting. But facing a set point, the Pirates' Figueroa ended the set 25-23 with his 10^th kill in the early going.

Not a lot separated either side, but Park was able to garner a four-point lead 17-13 in set two. A 6-1 run for the Mustangs led to a lead change at 19-18. There was some back and forth, but the Mustangs went up two points after a double-block, 22-20. The Pirates got a lift from Figueroa's kill and a double-block from Heart 1^st Team performers, Mihailo Ivanovic and Nicolas Tenius, tied the match at 22-22. Mount Mercy got to a set point at 24-23, but a service error evened it out again at 24-24. Another double-block by Veljko Stojic and Ivanovic turned the tables and Park was up 25-24. Stojic got the call for the last point and sent Park to set three up 2-0 after a kill and set win of 26-24.

Park overtook the Mustangs midway through the third set with a 4-1 run that led to a Mount Mercy timeout, 19-15. There was a lot of fight on Mount Mercy's side to bring it within a point three more times, but a service error would end it in favor of Park, 25-23.

24 kills was an impressive number for Figueroa in his tournament debut, while Jovan Nikolic led Park with 38 assists.

Ivanovic had a career night with 10 block assists, the most in a single match for the junior from Serbia in his Park tenure.

The Master's, L 0-3 | Box Score
This would mark the second time in the last two seasons that Park and The Master's have crossed paths, but the first time in a national tournament setting. In 2024, the Mustangs earned a sweep victory over Park in Chandler, Ariz. The Master's had the same result in 2025 for the sweep 23-25, 19-23, 20-25.

Park hung with the Mustangs in the first set with a 5-1 run that gave the Pirates a 13-10 lead. Figueroa and Ivanovic had kills and a combined block in that span. Back-to-back blocks for the Mustangs got them back on track led to a 5-1 run in response to regain a 15-14 lead. Park wasn't done though and with a 3-1 run, including a block by Alessandro Tolin and Avram Bozovic, the Pirates regained a lead 17-16. A 4-0 run for The Master's was the final lead change, despite Park staying within one point with three consecutive kills by Figueroa. The Mustang's took the first set 25-23.

There were seven ties through the midway point of set two. A kill by Figueroa helped Park come within one point at 17-16, but a 7-2 scoring run forced Park into a set point, down 24-19. Figueroa had 15 kills on the night and tacked on one before the set was out as the Mustangs went up 2-0, 25-19.

The Pirates and The Master's were in for another close set through the midway point, tied 14-all. At this point though a 4-1 run gave the Mustangs the momentum, 19-15. Both teams alternated points, but Park was unable to gain ground on the Mustangs, as The Master's earned the 25-20 sweep.

Nikolic again was the assist leader for Park with 29 and Figueroa led the Pirates with 15 kills. Tenius and Ivanovic were the next offensive weapons for the Pirates with five kills each.