KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Park University won the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship in a five-set thriller against conference rival Columbia (MIssouri) College on Saturday in snowy Sioux City, Iowa.
The second-seeded Pirates trailed twice against the third-seeded Cougars but never caved during a 3-2 victory (19-25, 25-15, 17-25, 25-20, 16-14).
Fittingly, sophomore outside hitter Nada Meawad delivered the game-winning kill for Park, which finished 36-1 in claiming the second national title in program history.
Meawad, who only made five errors in 76 total attacks and hit a whopping .408 for the match, pounded out a season-high 36 kills in leading the rally for the Pirates, who were undefeated en route to the national crown in 2014.
The victory avenged Park’s only loss of the season, a five-set defeat Nov. 10 against Columbia in the American Midwest Conference Tournament championship.
The Cougars (42-5) finished 1-2 in three meetings this season against the Pirates, who also got 11 kills from junior Maren Roper and nine each from junior middle hitter Paula de Oliveira and sophomore Noura Meawad.
Senior setter Danna Gomes delivered 63 assists for Park, which also got a match-high 23 digs from junior libero Celina Monteiro. Four other Pirates — Noura Meawad (13), Nada Meawad (12), sophomore outside hitter Alissa Flint (11) and Gomes (10) — also delivered double-figure digs.
