(Mesa, AZ) The Park University Gilbert volleyball team played its best match of the season en route to beating Hope International University 3-1(21-25, 25-20, 25-8, 26-24) at Arizona Athletic Grounds. With the win, the Buccaneers pick up their first conference win and snap an eight-game losing streak, The Bucs move to 5-8 overall and 1-8 in the GSAC.
It was a record setting night for three Buccaneers, as Leile Lee, Mallory Turner and Kyla Knight all set career highs for kills. Lee has had her two best games of the year against HIU, notching 18 kills in five sets back in September and then besting that mark with 22 kills tonight. She hit .436 for the match.
Turner, who has been the Bucs “go to” all season, continued her solid junior campaign with 20 kills and hit a gaudy .630 with only three attack errors.
Knight had her best outing in a Buccaneer uniform with 13 kills and only two errors as she hit .344.
In the first set, the Bucs showcased the offensive power they would continue to produce throughout the match with 17 kills, but it was offset by seven attack errors. This led to a 25-21 first set loss. HIU had 15 kills in the set and only three errors.
Tonight, Park continued to play better as the night progressed, reducing the number of errors in the second set to five but tacked on another 16 putaways. They increased their hitting percentage to .256 in the second stanza.
The third set was a masterclass in what the Bucs can be as they had 17 kills and only two errors en route to a 25-8 third set win. The Royals struggled to get going in the frame as the Bucs jumped out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back.
When these two teams met in September, Park took a 2-1 lead against HIU in Fullerton but dropped the final two sets to lose in five. This time, the Bucs managed to reverse its fortunes.
Park Gilbert had a 10-4 lead and it looked as though they might have an easy time of it, but an 8-2 Royals run knotted the score at 12-12 and it would be a fight to the finish. For the remainder of the match neither team held a lead larger than two points. Park held the first set point at 24-23, but a Cassidy Koffroth kill kept HIU alive. But Turner and Knight finished the job, with back-to-back kills to give the Bucs the match.
Not only was it a record setting night for the offense, the defense also showed some teeth. Head coach Pisila Tukia inserted junior Taylor Van Winkle as the libero for the first time this season and it paid off. Van Winkle set a career high with 26 digs which is the third highest total in school history. Only four other players have ever had more digs in a match in Bucs history.
The Bucs set a season high with 66 kills, the fourth highest total in school history and the most ever in a four-set match, besting the previous mark of 64 when the Bucs lost in four sets in the first round of the NAIA tournament in 2022 at Marion (Ind)
The 75 digs ties for the 10th most digs in a match in school history
Park Gilbert hopes to ride the momentum of this win into its match tomorrow afternoon against Life Pacific. The Buccaneers dropped a 3-0 contest to Warriors back in September. The match is slated to start at 2 p.m. at Arizona Athletic Grounds.
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Preston English
Click on Logo
