(Mesa, AZ) The Park University Gilbert volleyball team (2-3, 1-1) defeated the Life Pacific University Warriors (3-5, 0-1) by a score of 3-2, Friday evening at Arizona Athletic Grounds.
The Buccaneers earned their first Great Southwest Athletic Conference win in thrilling fashion, as they defeated the Warriors in a five-set duel (23-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22, 15-9). Park-Gilbert also logged its first win against Life Pacific in program history, moving to 1-4 all-time.
Park-Gilbert overcame a pair of one-set deficits to secure the victory, taking control late in the fourth set before closing out the match in the decisive fifth frame.
Life Pacific opened the match with a 25-23 win but the Buccaneers responded in the second set, hitting .300 as a team and limiting the Warriors to 18 points. LPU answered in the third, hitting .406 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
With their backs against the wall, the Buccaneers never trailed in the fourth set and carried that momentum into the fifth. Park-Gilbert built up a 13-4 lead late in the fifth set. Despite the Warriors scoring four of the next five points, Park-Gilbert put the match to bed with a pair of late kills.
Three Buccaneers recorded double-digit kills Friday evening. Lainey Calvary and Hayven Lick led the way with 14 kills each, while Keep Williams added 13 kills. Calvary was particularly efficient, hitting .522 on 23 attacks.
Bucs setter Adrianna DeMario posted a season-high 46 assists while adding four kills, two service aces and 10 digs. DeMario posted her fourth double-double through five games this season.
Kyla Knight and Porsche Bauer posted 15 digs each, marking a career-high for Knight. Calvary and Molly Aikenseach posted a team-high four blocks.
TEAM STATS
| Set | Life Pacific | Park-Gilbert (AZ) | ||||||
| K | E | TA | % | K | E | TA | % | |
| 1 | 17 | 5 | 46 | .261 | 15 | 4 | 38 | .289 |
| 2 | 13 | 6 | 39 | .179 | 15 | 3 | 40 | .300 |
| 3 | 16 | 3 | 32 | .406 | 11 | 1 | 20 | .500 |
| 4 | 12 | 9 | 37 | .081 | 13 | 6 | 38 | .184 |
| 5 | 3 | 5 | 15 | -.133 | 9 | 5 | 17 | .235 |
| 61 | 28 | 169 | .195 | 63 | 19 | 153 | .288 | |
INDIVIDUAL STATS
| Kills | Calvary, Lainey (14), Lick, Hayven (14), Williams, Keep (13) |
| Aces | Williams, Keep (3), DeMario, Adrianna (2), Knight, Kyla (1) |
| Blocks | Aikens, Molly (4.0), Calvary, Lainey (4.0), Knight, Kyla (3.0) |
| Assists | DeMario, Adrianna (46), Bauer, Porsche (6), Knight, Kyla (2) |
| Digs | Knight, Kyla (15), Bauer, Porsche (15), Winfield, Alyssa (10) |
UP NEXT
The Buccaneers return to the court Saturday, Sept. 5 at 12 p.m MST. They will take a brief pause from GSAC play and host the Lake Forest College Foresters (0-1, 0-0) at Arizona Athletic Grounds
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Garrett Campbell
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