Park Edges MNU, MNU Earns Title and 1 Seed

The Basics
Score: MNU 2 - Park 3
Record: MNU (25-1, 18-1), PU (24-4, 18-1)
Location: Breckon Sports Center | Parkville, Mo.

PARKVILLE, Mo. - MNU dropped their first match of the year in a 5-set thriller at #13 Park on Tuesday. MNU earned the Co-Conference Championship, the 1-seed in the conference tournament, and the first automatic bid to the national tournament via the tie-breaker. The winner of the conference tournament gets the Heart's second automatic bid to Nationals. Tuesday's scores were 21-25, 28-30, 29-27, 25-21, 11-15. In order to secure the 1-seed and automatic bid, MNU needed to either win at least 1 set, or get swept by fewer than 12 total points (MNU swept Park by 12 points in their previous matchup). Late in the 3rd set, the 1-seed was still in doubt as Park led 23-19 and MNU needed 1 more point to guarantee an 11-point spread. A Park service error sewed up the 1-seed for MNU, but the Pioneers were far from done. MNU fought off 3 match points to stay alive, and eventually won the 3rd set 29-27. The Pioneers controlled the 4th set and won 25-21 to force a 5th. MNU led 8-7 at the switch, but Park rallied for an 8-3 run to secure the match and break MNU's undefeated season.

Turning Point
Park's 8-3 run to close Set 5 was the clincher.

Individual Leaders
Ariana Arciniega had 15 kills. Lucie Maceckova had 12 kills, 14 digs, and 5 blocks. Cassidy Crist had 11 kills and 11 digs. Mikayla Johnson had 11 kills and 4 blocks. Katrina Davis had 45 assists and 11 digs. And Savannah Crossland had 19 digs.

Up Next
The next match is the quarterfinals of the conference tournament at home vs. Mt. Mercy (20-8, 12-7) at 5:00.