Park University Women's Volleyball won its biggest match of the year, traveling down to MidAmerica Nazarene and winning a five-set thriller to avenge a Pirates' home loss earlier in the season (25-18, 14-25, 26-24, 25-18, 15-7). The Pirates' biggest stars shined again in this match.
Indi Zetic tallied 18 kills and three service aces, while
Silvia Albani recorded 51 assists in one of her best performances of the season. The second-best blocking team showed up in a huge way with seven blocks, and Park's 80 digs were the second-highest total in a match this season (96--Wayland Baptist).
How it happened
The Pirates stormed out of the gate with four kills to help take a 6-2 lead and never gave it up. Park trailed once in the first set, at 1-0. MidAmerica Nazarene never got the lead lower than three as the Pirates took the set 25-18. The Pirates were extremely efficient in the set, with an impressive .333 hitting percentage and 16 kills with four errors. The Pioneers managed eight kills, with two of the four errors going to Park blocks. It was all Park in set one.
The Pioneers flipped the script in the second set, taking a 6-4 lead with strong serving and a pair of kills. The Pioneers would never play from behind again in the second set, and extended the lead to 14-8 with a four-point run thanks to three attack errors (one block) and a service ace. The Pioneers dominated the set the rest of the way to a 25-14 win. The Pioneers led with 10 kills and didn't even have to be overly efficient, as six errors were nearly half of Park's points in the set. Four Pioneers service aces and a negative hitting percentage from the Pirates put no pressure on the home team.
In over 75 percent of matches that are tied at 1-1, the winner of set three wins the match. Both teams knew that and fought in extra points in the third set. The Pioneers started hot, scoring four kills in the first seven points to take an early 4-3 lead. MidAmerica Nazarene held on for dear life to the one-point lead and extended it to as many as four in two points in the set, but Park battled back at times. However, the Pirates could never take the lead, but forced a tie nine times throughout the set (0-9 in tiebreaker points). The latest the set was tied was 24-24, after the Pirates went on a three-point run to tie it at 23-23 two points earlier thanks to one kill from
Trinity Iverson and two kills from captain
Isadora Dias. However, it was Mia Olson who broke the tie twice, and a thunderous block by Maja Ludyga and Kennedy Smalley sealed the final point for the Pioneers.
It's hard to stay focused after dropping a heartbreaker set, but India Zetic was laser-focused. Zetic started the set with a kill, and a few points later built a 7-2 Pirates' lead with three service aces. Much like the Pirates did in set one, the Pirates built a lead and kept it. The lead got as low as four once at 17-13, but the Pirates' attack was incredible, producing five straight kills from three different Pirates. Park recorded a match-high 19 kills in the set, good enough for second most in a set this season. The Pirates were very much alive after forcing a fifth set.
As said before, only 25% of teams who lose the second set after being tied 1-1 win the match. Parek made it look easy. A .441 hitting percentage with eight kills, and the first set this season with no Pirate attack errors. With the set tied at 5-5, Park blew it open after scoring seven straight points, including five kills and a service ace. Park was picture-perfect in the fifth set, moving to fifth in the Heart Conference standings with the win.
Park comes back home for a match on Friday, Oct. 16, and a second match on Saturday, Oct. 17.
