PARK TRIANGULAR SCORES
  • Park 3, Univ. of Saint Mary (26-28, 25-13, 25-19, 25-14)
  • Avila 3, Univ. of Saint Mary 0 (25-9, 25-17, 25-16)
  • Park 3, Avila 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-23)

Ashley Robinson had 24 kills and four blocks in a pair of matches to help Park win the 2010 Park University Triangular at Breckon Sports Center.

PARKVILLE, Mo. – The Park University women’s volleyball team flattened out its record at 3-3 Wednesday evening in the 2010 Park University triangular, defeating the University of Saint Mary and Avila University, using the team’s 2010 home opener to snap a three-match winless streak.

Park (3-3) defeated USM 3-1 in the opener, followed by a straight-sets win over Avila, 3-0. The Pirates got the day going with a four-set victory over the University of Saint Mary, scrambling back to beat the Spires after falling behind in the first set.

Park trailed by two late in the opening set, 20-18, before going on a 6-2 run to take a 24-22 lead, but Saint Mary forced extra points and put down a pair of scores to go up 1-0 in the match with a 28-26 win. That was as close as USM would get to victory, though, after Park evened the match by cruising to a 25-13 win in set two, followed by a 25-19 win in the third frame.

The Pirates later managed to grab a 10-point lead late in the fourth set and pushed it to 11 to win the match with a 25-14 victory in the final frame.

Ashley Robinson led the Pirates in the win, striking13 kills while also posting a pair of blocks. Jordyn Anderson also helped the Pirate offense with 10 kills, but her presence was felt more at the net, where she totaled five blocks, including a crucial solo block late in the match and four more block assists.

Crystal Cole also had four block assists, adding 40 assists from the setting position, while Vanessa Lawrenz led the Pirate defense, coming up with 20 digs. Allie Nichols also had double figures defensively, posting 11 digs while also recording seven kills and a team-high three service aces.

In the second match of the triangular, Avila jumped on Saint Mary early, defeating the Spires 25-9 in the opening set, followed by wins of 25-17 and 25-16 in the second and third sets, improving to 1-0 with a quick sweep of the Spires.

Park led wire-to-wire in the opening frame of the final contest in the triangular, beating Avila 25-19 to begin the match with a 1-0 lead.

The Pirates stayed hot early in the second set, jumping out to a 5-2 lead on a kill by Robinson, but the Eagles fired back, going on an 8-2 run to take a 10-7 lead. Park fought back to tie the match at 17-all, and a play later, the Pirates put a ball past the left side of the Eagle defense, taking an 18-17 lead.

Out of an Avila timeout, Cole made a solo block on the right side to make it 19-17, and from there, Park won six of the final eight points to come away with a 25-19 set-two win, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.

Avila took a 15-12 led midway through set three, but for a second-straight set, the Pirates rallied, going on a 7-3 run to take a 17-15 lead. Avila answered back with the next two points to tie it, 17-17, but Park finished the match by scoring eight of the final 14 points to claim a 3-0 win, 25-23.

Mariana Vogado led the Pirates offensively against Avila, registering 12 kills, while Robinson followed with 11 kills and added a pair of blocks. Cole also had two blocks with 34 assists, and Lawrenz led Park’s defensive effort, posting 12 digs.

Park returns to action in a week, traveling to Haskell Indian Nations University on Sept. 8, at 7 p.m.