Fray Arteaga had 24 kills but Park couldn't hold off Hope International in a five-set loss.

Box Score

PARKVILLE, Mo. – Park University brought its 2009 men’s volleyball season to a close Friday at Breckon Sports Center, falling to Hope International University in five sets despite 24 kills from Fray Arteaga and 20 by senior Henry Uribe.

Park (22-9) also had 64 assists from Philip Heckmann, while Hope International (16-9) had 18 total blocks in the match.

The Royals built an early led in the opening set, going up 14-9 on a kill by Gary Ramirez, but Park managed to roll off nine of the next 13 points, getting a kill from Arteaga before back-to-back points by Uribe to make it 18-18.

Uribe brought Park within one with a service ace at 18-17 and tied it with a kill, but Hope later regained the lead, going up 24-21 on a pair of Park errors. The Pirates scored the next three points, tying the set at 24 on another Uribe kill and a Royal error, but Hope went on a 3-0 run of its own, extending the lead back to three, 27-24.

Hope secured the win four serves later, winning on a Park error, 30-25. Hope International held Park to .077 hitting in the opening set while out-blocking the Pirates, 4-1.

Park fell behind for a second-straight set in frame No. 2, but again the Pirates wrestled back a lead from the Royals, tying the match at 11 before taking the lead on a pair of kills by Arteaga and Joe Mponzi, 13-11.

The Royals regained the lead midway through the set, going up 16-15, but another kill by Mponzi knotted the scoreboard again at 16, and a Pirate block by Florian Gornik and Bosko Novovic put Park up 17-16. A Hope error pushed Park’s lead to 18-16, forcing a Royal time out, and the Pirates went on to win on a kill by Arteaga, 30-28.

Hope International made it a third-straight set with an early lead, falling behind 6-5 initially before rolling off the next nine points to take a 14-6 lead, forcing a Pirate time out after a kill by Ivan Zlatkof and a Park ball-handling error.

Park broke the run with a kill by Novovic, cutting the lead to 14-7, but Hope managed to extend its lead to 21-12 a dozen serves later on a Pirate miscue, and the Royals held on to win the third set, 30-21.

Hope took a 5-2 lead to begin set No. 4 before Park took a 13-11 lead on a service ace by Mponzi. Hope fought back to tie it at 16, getting a kill from Zlatkov and a Park error, but a kill by Uribe and a miscue on the Royals put Park back in front, 18-16.

The Royals rallied back to lead 26-24 late in the game, but back-to-back aces by the Pirates tied it at 26, and Park took the lead on an Arteaga kill, 29-28. The two teams traded points until a 32-all tie, and Park forced a fifth set on the next two plays, getting another Arteaga kill, followed by a Hope error to win, 34-32.

Park led 6-4 midway through the fifth set, but Hope tied the game at 7, and the Royals then went on a 3-0 run, going up 10-7 on a block by Hernandez and Ramirez.

The lead would stick over the final 10 serves, as Hope came away with the victory, 15-12, advancing to Friday afternoon’s semifinal round.

The Royals will take on California Baptist at 4:30 p.m. inside Breckon Sports Center.