Pride fall in four sets to No. 5 Park

PARKVILLE, Mo. - Hoping to make waves in the NAIA volleyball world, the Clarke University men's volleyball team was able to take a set off of No. 5 Park University but still fell in a 3-1 match to the Pirates.

Park was able to take the first and second set before CU earned a third set win to keep the match alive but eventually dropped the fourth as the set scores went 25-17, 25-16, 23-25, and 25-17 in favor of the Pirates as they hit for a hitting percentage of over .240 in each of their set wins.

PU was carried offensively by a pair of 20-point performances as Samuel Essilfie finished with a match-high 22 kills on 40 swings with only five errors for a .425 hitting percentage while Joao Friedrich finished with 15 kills, five aces, and two blocks to go over 20 on points as well.

For the Pride, Justin Hernandez finished in double digits in kills for the second time this season as he finished with a team-high 11 kills and finished with a .118 hitting percentage as Tye Ojala had eight kills and Zachary Barr added seven with a .357 hitting percentage.

Clarke men's volleyball will stay on the road to wrap up their weekend with a road match against Graceland University for a 3:00 p.m. CT scheduled first serve in Lamoni, Iowa.