By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – (Complete Schedule) Top seeds reign supreme on day one of pool play action at the 2014 NAIA Volleyball National Championship, presented by J&L Staffing and Recruiting. With the 24-team field being divided into six pools of four teams each, every program played one match within their respective pool on Tuesday.

No. 1 seeded squads ended the day with a 6-0 record that included four sweeps. Golden State Athletic Conference co-champion Concordia (Calif.) and Missouri Baptist were the two No. 1 teams to drop a set today. The Eagles downed College of Idaho, 3-1, and the Spartans defeated Indiana Wesleyan, 3-1.

Overall No. 1 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) extended its winning streak to 29 and reached the 30-win plateau for the first time since the 2011 season with a 3-0 victory against championship host Briar Cliff (Iowa). The Battlin’ Bears were dominant as a team, hitting .345 for the match with nine blocks. Yang Yang led the effort with 17 kills and a .485 attack percentage.

Park (Mo.) – the only remaining unbeaten team in NAIA volleyball – improved to 35-0 on the season with a 3-0 win against Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament champion Evangel (Mo.). Outside hitter Wendy Romero tied a program record with her 69th service ace of the year in the match and was 1-of-3 Pirates with double-digit kills. Right side Wanessa Siqueira owned a match-high 17 kills and .536 hitting percentage.

With the sweep, Park boasts a set record of 105-2. The Pirates haven’t dropped a set since Oct. 24 against Missouri Baptist.

Defending national champion Texas at Brownsville won its 13th-straight national championship pool play match with a 3-0 sweep of Vanguard (Calif.). The Ocelots, who are 17-2 all-time in pool play with their last loss came in 2009 against Concordia, were led by Bojana Mitrovic’s 11 kills. Texas at Brownsville plays Southern Oregon tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Pool D was the only grouping on the day where the top-two seeds swept their opponents. Biola downed newcomer Coastal Georgia and Viterbo (Wis.) beat Madonna (Mich.).

Cascade Collegiate Conference members Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon earned two of today’s three upsets. The Mountaineers, who are making their first-ever trip to the national championship, swept Grand View (Iowa), while Southern Oregon downed perennial powerhouse Columbia (Mo.), 3-1.

Outside hitter Motade Atanda shined for the Raiders in the win with her 15th-straight performance with double figure kills. The San Jose, Calif., native hammered home 19, while also recording two blocks. Southern Oregon has advanced out of pool play only once in seven previous trips to the event.

The third upset came in the nightcap, as Mid-South Conference Tournament champion Georgetown (Ky.) knocked off Midland (Neb.), 3-2 – the only match of the day to go a full five sets. Three individuals had double-digit kills in the match for Georgetown, led by outside hitter Caroline Ricks’ 16 – two shy of tying her season-high of 18.

Pool play action continues Wednesday starting at 1 p.m. inside the Tyson Events Center.

For more information on the NAIA Volleyball National Championship, click here.