For the second match in a row, the Park University Gilbert women's volleyball team found themselves down 2-1 after three sets, needing to dig deep to defeat a conference foe. For the second match in a row, the Buccaneers pulled off the comeback in five sets to top UC Merced, 3-2.

"We battled through adversity and our own self errors to come away with a great team victory," head coach Clay Webb said. "Having depth allowed for us to find the right rotation that worked today. Our team is deep in a lot of areas and we found a way to win today. Happy with the outcome obviously, but the job's not done."

The depth of the team was very apparent on the box score as several Buccaneers posted notable performances. Opposite hitter Miranda Bacon (18 kills, 11 digs), setter Jennifer Lauer (53 assists, 13 digs), outside hitter Amanda Jonovich (11 kills, 13 digs) all had double-doubles for the Bucs. 

Rounding out the starters, middleblockers Makenna Busse and Kayla Wieserman combined for 19 kills of their own, while Autumn Wood notched six kills and 12 digs. Off the bench, libero Gabriela Morales tied for the game high in digs with 18, while outside hitter Georgia Romine-Black added eight kills.

The Buccaneers raced out to a lead in the first set and extended it to as many as nine points at the 19-10 mark before finishing the set 25-18. The Bobcats answered by winning the next two sets; the Buccaneers fell behind five points early in set two and were not able to claw back.

Set three was by far the tightest of the day; the Buccaneers never led after 1-0, but never fell behind by more than three points. A kill by Wieserman in the third set tied things at 25 before an attack error by Jonovich and a Bobcats kill ended the set.

With their backs up against the wall, the Bucs found a way to win the next two sets handily. A Jonovich kill gave the Bucs their biggest lead of the day of eight points en route to a victory in set four.

A kill by Bacon tied things at seven points a piece before the Bobcats committed either a service ace or attack error on eight of the final 12 rallies to secure the Bucs' victory.

As a team, the Bucs finished with 64 kills to the Bobcats' 45 and a hitting percentage of .192 compared to Merced's .136.

The Buccaneers will have a chance to extend their winning streak to five and six games tomorrow, March 14, in a doubleheader that begins at 12 p.m.