Men's Volleyball Sank by the No. 8 Pirates

Lamoni, Iowa – The Graceland University Men's Volleyball were defeated by the No. 8 Park (Mo.) University Pirates in their home opener. The Yellowjackets move to 0-2 on the season and are 0-1 in conference play.

Graceland (0-2; 0-1) vs. Park (2-0; 1-0)
Set 1: Graceland 14 | Park 25
Park came out hot to find the first lead, working a 6-0 scoring run (2-9). Graceland would retaliate to close the gap to four points with their own run started by Rylon Raczka's kill, followed by a service ace from Sam Johnson and Will Simmers adding his own kill (5-9). Late in the set, the Pirates would produce a five-point jump and take six of the remaining seven points of the first set.
Set 2: Graceland 11 | Park 25
The Pirates would come out with a 2-9 lead; Rylon Raczka would collect back-to-back kills, and a block from Will Simmers would close the gap to four points (5-9). Park would answer with a nine-point increase to create a lead of 13 points. The Pirates would hold their advantage to take the second set.
Set 3: Graceland 20 | Park 25
Both teams came out competitive for the third set. Midway through the set, the Yellowjackets would produce an 8-2 scoring run; a kill from Issac Elliot would tie the score 11-11 and take the lead 13-12. The Pirates would retaliate with their own run, 5-0, to retake the lead by two. Park would continue in their groove, claiming five of the remaining eight points and the match.

Graceland Leaders-
DIGS: Logan Book – 5
KILLS: Rylon Raczka – 5
SERVICE ACES: Logan Book / Rylon Raczka / Sam Johnson – 1
BLOCKS: Will Simmers – 3

Park Leaders-
DIGS: Leonardo Leao – 20
KILLS: Joao Friedrich – 15
SERVICE ACES: Joao Friedrich – 6
BLOCKS: Mihailo Ivanovic – 8

Up Next:
The Yellowjackets will be back on Tuesday January 31 when they host the No. 1 ranked Grand View (Iowa) University Vikings. Start time will be at 7:00 pm.

-Yellowjackets-