Graceland Falls to Park in Straight Sets Despite Late Rally

Parkville, Mo. – The Graceland University men's volleyball team dropped its conference opener on the road Tuesday night, falling to Park University in straight sets (13-25, 13-25, 23-25) inside the Breckon Sports Center. Despite a slow start, the Yellowjackets (2-6, 0-1 Heart of America Athletic Conference) showed resilience in the third set, nearly forcing a fourth frame against the nationally ranked Pirates (5-1, 1-0 Heart).

Match Recap

Park established control early, displaying strong offensive efficiency in the first two sets. The Pirates hit .667 in the opening frame, recording 15 kills with just one error. Graceland struggled to find offensive rhythm, finishing the set with seven kills but committing four attack errors.

The second set followed a similar script, as Park capitalized on aggressive service pressure, forcing multiple reception errors from the Yellowjackets. Graceland was held to just four kills in the frame while Park registered 13, maintaining their advantage with a .320 hitting percentage.

The third set was a different story, as the Yellowjackets battled back and held a late lead. A service ace by AJ Rasquero put Graceland ahead 20-19, but Park responded with key kills from Leonardo Maldonado and Nicolas Tenius down the stretch. Graceland had an opportunity to extend the match but was unable to close out set point, as Maldonado delivered a match-sealing service ace to complete the sweep.

Stat Leaders

Graceland's offense was led by Elijah Kline, who finished with 10 kills on a .263 hitting percentage. Andrew Cziep and Andrew Youssef each added five and four kills, respectively. Luis Garcia directed the offense with 18 assists while also contributing one service ace. Defensively, Kalanikapu Aona and Garcia tallied two block assists each, and the Yellowjackets finished with four total team blocks.

Park was led by Leonardo Maldonado, who recorded a match-high 16 kills while hitting .323. Nicolas Tenius added 11 kills and one service ace, while Jovan Nikolic distributed 21 assists to pace the Pirates' attack.

Coach's Thoughts

Following the match, Graceland head coach Eric Majors praised his team's resilience despite facing a high-pressure serving team:

"Park brought amazing service pressure against us tonight that we hadn't experienced before. Our guys did a great job adapting, and we almost took the third set. We have an amazing young group that refuses to give up in high-stress situations."

Next Up

Graceland will return to action on Friday, February 14, when they travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to take on Mount Mercy. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. inside the Hennessey Rec Center.

For more information on Graceland men's volleyball and all Yellowjackets athletics, visit GUjackets.com.