Park volleyball reaches Final Four in NAIA tournament

The Park women’s volleyball team’s run in the postseason took on rather storied dimensions Friday.

The Pirates are headed to the Final Four of the NAIA tournament after two big wins on Friday in Sioux City, Iowa.

Park, ranked No. 7 in the coaches’ poll, reached the semifinals by upsetting No. 1 Westmont (Calif.) in four sets (26-24, 20-25, 25-22, 25-18) in the quarterfinals.

The Pirates will face No. 3 Hastings (Neb.) in the semifinals on Saturday at 11 a.m., with the winner advancing to Saturday night’s championship match.

Dordt (Iowa) will face Midland (Neb.) in Saturday’s other semifinal.

Park reached the quarterfinals by knocking out Grand View (Iowa) in a tough five-set match, 25-17, 25-23, 18-25, 15-13. It was the Pirates’ second-straight five-set win in the tournament.

Park’s Wendy Romero had 21 kills in the match against Grand View, vaulting her past Wanessa Siqueira’s previous season record for Park of 632 kills. After 22 kills against Westmont, Romero has a total of 659 kills on the season.

Baker ousted in NAIA soccer

The Baker women’s soccer team lost in the semifinals of the NAIA tournament on Friday. Baker fell 2-0 to Spring Arbor (Mich.) in Orange Beach, Ala.

This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 10:33 PM with the headline "Park volleyball reaches Final Four in NAIA tournament."