(Aliso Viejo, CA) The Park University Gilbert men’s volleyball team picked up its second win of the season as they beat Soka University of America 3-1 (25-6, 23-25, 25-11, 25-12) in Aliso Viejo, Calif., this evening.
Both of Bucs wins this season have come against the Lions who are in their inaugural season as a program. The Bucs won 3-0 at Arizona Athletic Grounds back in February.
The Bucs rolled in the first set with 13 kills on 16 attempts and only one error to hit .688. The Bucs added two aces and two blocks in the set.
The second set saw Bucs head coach Vince Zanzucchi give opportunities to some of the non-starters and while the Bucs posted 13 kills again in the set, this time it was offset by 10 errors and led to the Lions winning their first set all season.
The Bucs returned to form in the third set as they won going away 25-11. The Bucs posted 11 kills to only three errors in the third set and hit .421.
The Lions continued to fight in the fourth set keeping the set close early (7-6) before the Bucs went on a 10-2 run to pull away and finish off the match with a 25-12 score in the final frame. The Bucs added another 14 kills to their total and finished the night with 51 kills.
The 51 kills for the match set a season high for the Bucs besting the 43 the Bucs posted against No. 1 The Master’s. The 51 kills is also the 8th highest total in school history. The .374 hitting percentage is the fourth best in a match in school history surpassing the .373 they hit against the Lions in February.
Dominic Smith continues his spectacular freshman campaign as he set a career high and broke the school record for kills in a match by a freshman. Smith already was tied for the record with 21 prior to tonight. The 22 kills is also the third most in a match in school history.
Smith is already rewriting the Bucs record book. He has 173 kills on the season which is already second most for a single season and is only 11 kills from topping the list. Trent Williams set the mark in 2020 with 184 in a truncated season due to covid. Smith is third on the single season attack list with 450. His 191 points is third most in a single season. Smith set a season high for hitting percentage as well hitting .545.
Freshman Azzyln Potts also set a new career high with 13 kills in the match and he also set a career high hitting percentage at .579.
Sophomore middle blocker Jonah Baich set the school record for blocks with nine (1 BS, 8 BA). He added another six kills on top of that. Freshman Hunter Glover, making his Park debut, had six kills in his inaugural foray into NAIA volleyball. Junior Trevor Ayala and freshman Aidan Wankier had 29 and 16 assists, respectively. Libero Jeff Agcaoili led the squad with nine digs.
The Bucs do not have much time to celebrate the win as they travel to Fullerton, Calif., tomorrow to take on No. 15 Hope International in conference play tomorrow, Friday, April 4. The match is slated to start at 6 p.m.
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Preston English
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