(Mesa, AZ) Someone had to win. The Park University Gilbert men’s volleyball team faced off with Pacific Union College in a matchup of teams not only looking for its first conference win of the season but its first win of the season. The Buccaneers came out on top in a five-set thriller 3-2 (29-27, 19-25, 25-21, 21-25, 19-17). Park Gilbert moves to 1-7, 1-4 in conference play. PUC drops to 0-10, 0-5.
The Pioneers were trying to win a match on the court for the first time in its history. The Pioneers had two forfeit wins against Park Gilbert a year ago for using an ineligible player
The entire match was competitive from start to finish. Park won the first set 29-27 It was a see-saw affair with both teams holding leads as large as four points in the frame. PUC had the first two set points which the Bucs staved off before converting on its third opportunity. The Bucs posted 15 kills, while PUC had 16. One of the big difference in the set, the Pioneers had five service errors to only one for Park.
After outhitting the Bucs in set one, the Pioneers came out like a house on first in the second stanza ripping through the Bucs defense to the tune of 17 kills while the Bucs only had eight. PUC hit .297 for the set to only .192 for the Bucs.
Park Gilbert responded with a clean set in the third, accumulating 17 kills and only three errors as they hit .389 and won the set comfortably 25-21.
The way this match had gone back and forth, The Bucs had to expect an answer from the Pioneers and got one in the form of a .385 attack percentage. And while the Bucs outhit the Pioneers 16-12. The Buccos also committed nine attack errors to only two for the Pioneers and these two teams desperate for their first win were headed to a fifth set.
The final set could be categorized as an instant classic. There was suspense, there was tension and no one led by more than two points throughout the set. There were nine lead changes and each team had two match points before the Park Gilbert converted on the third match point. And when the match was over, neither team really knew it was over. It had been so intense and such a hard fought battle, it seemed as though neither team realized the match was over. They looked at each other as if to ask, “was that it? Was that the last point?” and the answer was yes, it was the final point and Park Gilbert had pulled out an amazing five-set win.
The final stats also tell the story of how close the match was. PUC had 70 kills to 67 for Park. PUC had 23 hitting errors, Park 25. The Pioneers hit .299 for the match while the Buccaneers hit .266. Digs were 53-51 in favor of Park and blocks with 9.5-9.0 in favor of Pacific Union. The Pioneers led in aces 5-3 but also led in errors 13-9.
Individually, Park Gilbert was led by Ben Turcinec who tied a career high for kills with 21. Nico Gutierrez set a new career high with 18 kills and posted the third highest dig total in school history with 17. Libero Tyler Yu set a career high for digs with 13. Kade Irvine, Ikaika Stant and Nathan Smith each had four blocks on the day. Hunter Miller (32) and Jake Burdick (25) combined for 57 assists.
Park Gilbert returns to play Saturday night as they take on Simpson at Bell Bank Park. March time is 8:30 p.m. in Fieldhouse A.
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Preston English
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