(Mesa, AZ) The Park University Gilbert volleyball team (5-9, 1-6) lost to the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Eagles (10-7, 3-4) by a score of 3-1, Saturday afternoon at Arizona Athletic Grounds.
The Buccaneers opened the first set with a five-point win, but the Eagles responded by taking the next three sets (25-23, 26-28, 20-25, 19-25). Park-Gilbert started strong the first and second sets, holding a 4-0 and 5-1 lead respectively, while it was the Eagles who jumped out to early leads in the third and fourth sets.
Despite the loss, the Buccaneers saw a pair of their longest-tenured players achieve major career milestones. Senior Kyla Knight became the sixth player in program history with 400 career kills, and senior Keep Williams earned her 300th career kill Saturday afternoon. Knight and Williams have spent the season climbing up Park-Gilbert’s all-time career kill ranks, with Knight currently at sixth and Williams at ninth. Both Kyla and Keep posted 11 kills Saturday afternoon, with Williams also logging 10 digs for her first double-double of the season.
Lainey Calvary posted a career-high 17 kills Saturday afternoon on 36 total attacks, the most kills from any Buccaneer in a game this season. Adrianna DeMario posted her fourth 40+ assist game of the year, Porsche Bauer logged her third 20+ dig game of the season, and Molly Aikens recorded 6 total blocks (2 solo, 4 block assist).
TEAM STATS
| Set | Embry-Riddle (AZ) | Park-Gilbert (AZ) | |||||||
| K | E | TA | % | K | E | TA | % | ||
| 1 | 13 | 5 | 37 | .216 | 16 | 4 | 33 | .364 | |
| 2 | 16 | 6 | 40 | .250 | 18 | 8 | 34 | .294 | |
| 3 | 12 | 5 | 40 | .175 | 12 | 10 | 43 | .047 | |
| 4 | 11 | 10 | 39 | .026 | 9 | 12 | 34 | -.088 | |
| 52 | 26 | 156 | .167 | 55 | 34 | 144 | .146 | ||
INDIVIDUAL STATS
| Kills | Calvary, Lainey (17), Knight, Kyla (11), Williams, Keep (11) |
| Aces | Williams, Keep (2), Knight, Kyla (1), Bauer, Porsche (1) |
| Blocks | Aikens, Molly (6.0), Williams, Keep (3.0), Knight, Kyla (2.0) |
| Assists | DeMario, Adrianna (42), Vila, Miyah (5), Bauer, Porsche (3) |
| Digs | Bauer, Porsche (20), Williams, Keep (10), Knight, Kyla (9) |
UP NEXT
After hosting three opponents this past week, Park-Gilbert hit the road for California and a pair of Great Southwest Athletic Conference games. The Bucs return to the court this Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. MST, when they face the La Sierra University Golden Eagles (6-9, 2-4) at the Alumni Pavilion in Riverside, California.
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Garrett Campbell
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