PARKVILLE, Mo. – Autumn Wood had 33 kills in two matches, including 20 in a .436 hitting performance against Saint Ambrose University, as Park University Gilbert beat the Bees in four sets (24-26, 25-20, 25-18, 25-23) in the East Dome of the Breckon Sports Center in Parkville. The win over SAU was the second match of the day for the Buccaneers, who also fell to 17th-ranked Central Methodist University – 25-16, 25-20, 25-15 – on the opening day of the 2019 Pirate Invitational.

Wood had a double-double 13 kills and 12 digs in the CMU match, and the split moved the Buccaneers to 2-1 on the year. Jenifer Lauer had 48 assists from the setting position, on the day, while Mackenzie Seitz led the defense in the win over SAU with 18 digs. CMU's win pushed the Eagles to 3-0, while SAU fell to 0-5 with the loss to the Buccaneers.

Park U Gilbert had Saint Ambrose down 23-19 late in the first but the Bees used a 4-0 run to tie, and after Kendra Zuckerman stopped the run with a kill to make it 24-23, the Bees scored three-straight to open a 1-0 lead in the match, 26-24.

The second was even at 9-9 before the Buccaneers went on a 5-0 run, leading 14-9, and Wood laced a kill to extend the lead to seven late, 19-12. Zuckerman registered another late kill to set up a 25-20 win, and the Buccaneers won the third 25-18 despite falling in to an early 3-1 hole.

Park U Gilbert put an exclamation point on the fourth, never trailing and building an early 8-2 lead through the first 10 points. Saint Ambrose did battle back to tie the set at 23, but Gabriela Morales ended the set and match by ticking the tape with a serve that fell on the SAU side of the net, a 25-23 win that marked the Buccaneers' first-ever win over an NAIA opponent.

In the day's first match, the Buccaneers led early, 3-1, on a service ace from Wood, but a 4-0 run from No. 17 CMU made it 5-3, and the nationally ranked Eagles showed why they're a threat to return to the NAIA Volleyball National Championship in Sioux City, pulling away in all three sets to improve to 3-0 on the year.

Saturday, the Buccaneers play both matches on the main court, in the West Dome, beginning with Lyon College, an American Midwest Conference rival of Park University's flagship campus, followed by a historic match with No. 1 Park University, the defending NAIA Volleyball National Champions.

Both matches can be watched live on the Pirate Sports Network at www.parkathletics.tv.