GILBERT, Ariz. - Park University Gilbert earned an inaugural win and did it in a big way Tuesday night at The Nest, sweeping South Mountain Community College (25-13, 25-18, 25-20), the first collegiate win for Buccaneer head coach Clay Webb and a big night for transfer outside hitter Autumn Wood, who finished with 13 kills, five digs and a block.
"We've got a lot of young athletes who are stepping up for us, but Autumn really played well for us tonight," Webb said. "She's our captain and no matter where she was, in the back row or the front row, she showed her maturity and experience at the collegiate level. I really like the team we have. There are things we need to clean up, but overall just really happy with the way things went tonight."
The Buccaneers (1-0) started with an efficient first set that, statistically, may go unmatched for a long while, hitting .609, while holding South Mountain to .144 in the match. Park hit .386, getting 19 assists from setter Jenifer Lauer, while Mackenzie Seitz had 17 digs to lead the Buccaneer defense.
Park U Gilbert built a big lead in the first, using a 6-0 run late in the set to double up the Cougars and then some, as Lauer registered a kill to make it 22-10. During the run, the Buccaneers had kills from Wood and Kayla Wieserman, while Lauer added a service ace in the run that turned a 16-10 lead into a 12-point advantage.
Lauer and Wieserman closed the set on an assist-kill combination to win 25-13, and in the second, a 3-0 run from the first serve set the tone for the Buccaneers, who used four more 3-0 runs to win the second 25-18. In its last 3-0 run of the frame, Park had a kill from Kendra Zuckerman and a pair of South Mountain errors to end the seven-point win from a 22-18 lead.
South Mountain had its biggest lead of the match in the third, up 13-9, but the Buccaneers were able to close the gap and pull in front 19-18, when Sabrina Garces and Claire Fisher blocked Quinci Dalley, part of a 4-0 spurt for Park that started when the Buccaneers trailed 18-16. The lead later reached 20-18, and the Buccaneers closed the match on another 4-0 run, getting two kills from Wood, another from Wieserman, and a Cougar error to close the match, 25-20.
The win comes in front of a trip to Parkville, Missouri at the end of this week, when the Buccaneers travel to the 2019 Pirate Invitational at Park University. Park U Gilbert will open tournament play Friday against Central Methodist and St. Ambrose, and Saturday, play begins in the morning against Lyon College.
Park University closes the tournament with a match 145 years in the making, when both Park University campuses play at 12:30 inside the Breckon Sports Center. The Park University Pirates open their season Friday at home in defense of the 2018 NAIA Volleyball National Championship. The Pirates are ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Volleyball Coaches Top 25 Poll.
Follow the entire weekend of matches at Gilbert.Parkathletics.com, ParkAthletics.com, and ParkAthletics.tv, with links on the Buccaneer Volleyball schedule page.
