(Mesa, AZ) The Park University Gilbert men’s volleyball team dropped its Cal Pac opener against Westcliff University 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-16).
This was a rematch of the final game of the 2021 season where the Warriors (2-6, 1-0) beat the Buccaneers (0-4, 0-1) with a Cal Pac tournament berth on the line.
The Buccaneers came out and played a clean first set with 12 kills and only three errors as they hit .391 in winning their first set of the season. The Warriors committed nine attack errors and four service errors in the first set which offset their 13 kills in a tight first set.
In set two, Park Gilbert had five more kills than Westcliff (12-7) but committed 16 total errors in the set (10 attack errors, six service errors) to allow the Warriors to even the match at 1-1. After hitting .391 in the first set, their hitting percentage dropped to .056 in the second.
The Bucs continued to swing well in the third set pounding 13 kills with only six errors to hit .226, but the Warriors had an even better set with 15 kills and four errors for a .379 hitting percentage. The set saw the Bucs lead early, but trailing 13-12, the Warriors used a 3-0 run to take a two-point lead and maintained the lead for the rest of the set.
The momentum of winning the third set carried over into the fourth for Westcliff as they hit .345 (29 kills, 10 errors) over the final two sets. Park Gilbert had trouble with Westcliff’s block in the fourth as the Warriors had six blocks for the set, four of which came on an 9-1 Westcliff run which put them up 20-11. A lead they were not able to overcome as they fell in the fourth and final set.
Nico Gutierrez let Park with 15 kills and he hit .118. David Shafer had an efficient afternoon with nine kills and only two errors as he hit .412. Hunter Miller (21) and Jake Burdick (18) combined for 39 assists and Tyler Yu had 10 digs.
Park Gilbert gets back on the horse tomorrow night as they face Saint Katherine at 8:30 p.m. at Bell Bank Park.
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Preston English
Click on Logo
