Park University finished as the runner-up at the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship after No. 3 Missouri Baptist University knocked off the Pirates in a five-set national finals’ battle on Dec. 4 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Spartans defeated the Pirates 3-2 in the championship (25-18, 20-25, 25-15, 14-25,15-8). Park ends the year with a record of 34-3 on the season, while Missouri Baptist ends the year at 33-2.
In set one of the championship match, Missouri Baptist was on fire, hitting .467 while holding Park to just .094. The set was close in the early going, with both teams trading points through 12-12.
The Spartans then took control of the set, scoring five straight to take a 17-12 lead. The Pirates got to within three at 18-15, but MBU scored seven of the final 10 points to take the set.
In set two, Park hit much better at .295 compared to MBU’s .200. The Pirates grabbed an early 3-0 lead before the Spartans tied things at 5-5.
Park University’s Nada Meawad, left, and Malaina Hensley, right, hug after losing to Missouri Baptist University in five sets of the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship on Dec. 4 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
The teams traded a series of points and were tied at 14-14 when the Pirates scored four straight points for an 18-14 lead. The closest MBU got the rest of the set was three before Park closed out the set.
In set three, Park again struggled, hitting just .079, while MBU hit .300. The Pirates never led in the set, only getting as close as 6-4 before falling 25-15.
In set four, the Pirates held MBU to hitting .000, while Park hit .290; Park jumped out to a 7-1 lead before MBU closed to within two at 11-9. The Pirates then reeled off 10 of the next 12 points to take a 21-11 lead before Park closed out the set.
In the fifth and deciding set, Park jumped out to a 5-0 lead before MBU came back to tie at 6-6. From there, the Spartans took control, scoring nine of the final 11 points to win the match.
For the match, Park hit just .155 and MBU hit .214 led by Nada Meawad, who recorded 20 kills and 13 digs. Caroline Moreira and Debora Bernardi added 11 kills each and Noura Meawad had 10 kills.
Amanda Mendes recorded 37 assists and 13 digs for the Pirates. Both Meawad sisters and Bernardi were named to the All-Tournament team, while Nada Meawad was named Attacker of the Tournament.
The Pirates had been riding a 31-match winning streak heading into the championship match. Park started the year with three wins but lost back-to-back matches to then No. 3 Midland University (Neb.) and then No. 9 Viterbo University (Wis.) in early September.