The Park Women's Volleyball squad showed toughness in a five-set win over Marion University to kick off the 2026 Labor Day classic. Visnja Canak was phenomenal; she led the Pirates in kills (20), digs (16), and service aces (6) to lift the Pirates over the Knights. Trinity Iverson also recorded a season-high eight blocks in the win. 

How it happened

The Pirates were knotted up with the Knights through most of set one, as after 22 points the set was tied 11-11. The Pirates finally broke through when they rallied for five straight points to grab a 19-13 lead, highlighted by a live drive service ace and a ferocious kill from Isadora Dias. That's all the Pirates needed, as they sailed through the rest of set one to a 25-19 victory. Visnja Canak tallied five kills in the first set. 

The Pirates decided the second set with a massive eight-point run. With the set tied at 3-3, the Pirates quickly turned a battle into a one-sided affair thanks to two kills from Visnja Canak and a flurry of attack errors by the Knights. The Knights battled back to a 12-8 score, but the Pirates never let it get closer than four points the rest of the way behind a fierce attack group that included India Zetic, Visnja Canak, and Elisa Dalla Pozza, and took set two 25-18. 

Going into the third set, Park felt comfortable with a 2-0 match lead, but the Knights didn't go away without a fight. They made the Pirates earn everything in set three, and flipped the script from set two to set three with an eight-point run to turn the set from 5-5 to 13-5. The Pirates never got within seven of the Knights until it was set point, and went on a late four-point run from 24-26 to 24-20, but by that time, the set was already out of reach, and a Chloe Cook kill sealed a set-three win for Marian. 

Marian had the momentum going into set four, and it showed, as the Knights jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, but the Pirates came right back with a four-point run to tie it back up at 6-6. It remained close until 10-9, and another big push from the Knights gave a 15-9 lead to Marian. However, a pair of kills and a string of attack errors put the Pirates within one, and eventually had the set tied at 22-22 and forced a Marian timeout. Chloe Cook came up big with a kill to lead 23-22, and a receiving error from the Pirates pushed the set to set point. Kennedy Altic recorded a kill to bring it back within one, but a service error directly after forced the match into a decisive set-five. 

Set five was what all set five should be: an absolute thriller. Park jumped out early to a 4-1 lead behind kills from Visnja Canak and India Zetic, along with a service ace from Elisa Dalla Pozza, but Marian had it tied at 5-5 after a service ace and three kills over the next five points. It was all Park over the next six points, turning a tie into a 10-6 lead behind another service ace from Visnja Canak and two Kennedy Altic kills. However, as mentioned, Marian wasn't going away and forced the Park lead down to just one at 11-10. It stayed a one-point lead at 13-12, and a kill from the star of the game, Visnja Canak, hit the back corner perfectly for a kill to put the match one point away for the Pirates. After a Knight kill, the game ended in the worst possible way for Marian: a serve that soared past the back line and gave Park the 15-13 victory and a highlight win. 

The Pirates, behind first-year head coach Erin Cooper, seem to be playing the right way, and it showed with a massive win over a strong Marian squad.