The Park University Gilbert volleyball team was making its first appearance in the NAIA Tournament and they made a good showing putting a scare into the No. 8 team in the country in the first two sets before falling 3-0 (20-25. 25-27, 17-25) at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Arena in Salem, Ore.

"Hats off to Corban," said Park Gilbert head coach Clay Webb "They are an experienced group and they played like it tonight. They executed in the key moments which made the difference."

The Buccaneers (18-7) looked as though they may have had some first NAIA Tournament nerves at the start of set one.  Corban (29-2) is a regular in the tournament and has been for a number of years and that experience paid off for them on the key points in the match.

The Buccaneers fell behind 16-9 in the first set before making a furious comeback to force the Warriors to have to call time out to stem the tide at 22-17 before ultimately winning the set 25-20. Corban had 16 kills to only seven for the Buccaneers and while the Buccaneers had only three attack errors in the first frame, they mixed in some unfortunate service errors which derailed momentum at points in the set.

Park Gilbert took the momentum of the end of set one where they outscored the Warriors 10-8 over the tail end of the set and used it to jump out in front in set two, holding a 6-2 advantage early.  They were able to maintain the lead for much of the set, but the Warriors slowly crept back in tying the match at 17-all.  Then tied at 21 the Bucs went on a 3-0 on a kill by Elizabeth Clemit, an ace by Annika Wallace and a Corban set error to give them set points. It looked as though the Bucs would knot the match but the experience of Corban came through at this critical time.  A 4-0 run behind a kill by Rylee Troutman, an ace and another kill by Troutman tied the score and then an error by the Bucs gave the Warriors set point. Although they staved off that set point, they could not overcome the next one and fell behind 0-2.

The Bucs outhit the Warriors in set two 15-11 in kills and percentage .314 to .233.  It was just a couple of key points within the set which cost the Bucs.

Still reeling from the devastation of the second set comeback, the Bucs were a little flat to start the third and fell behind quickly 0-4.  They were never able to overcome this deficit, ultimately dropping the final frame 25-17. Corban did not commit an attack error in the third set with 16 kills, hitting .593.  The Bucs did not play poorly, amassing 13 kills themselves and hitting .273, but Corban showed why they are ranked No. 8 in the nation.

Amanda Jonovich led Park Gilbert with 14 kills and hit .414. The Buccaneer middles of Makenna Busse and Elizabeth Clemit combined for nine kills with only two errors. Annika Wallace led the Bucs with 19 assists and Melissa Blockey had 16 helpers.

The Warriors now move on to Sioux City, Iowa for the round robin portion of the NAIA Volleyball Championships.  The Buccaneers return home, with great memories of a magical season, winning their first "official" Cal Pac Title and making the national tournament in their first year of eligibility in only their third season as a program. 

"I am so proud of what this team was able to do this season," said Webb.  The exciting thing is we have just about everyone returning and have some impact players coming in to join this group. We will be looking for bigger and better results next year."