The No. 2 seeded Park University Gilbert beach volleyball team got the Cal Pac championship tournament underway on Thursday morning with a 3-2 win over Benedictine Mesa, but fell in their second match of the day to No. 1 seeded Saint Katherine, 5-0.

  

Despite suffering a shutout, the double-elimination style of the tournament's bracket means that the Buccaneers championship hopes are alive and well as the tournament moves into day two tomorrow.

 

At the conclusion of the No. 4 (Gabriela Morales/Avery Turk), No. 2 (Autumn Wood/Hattie Patton) and No. 5 (Kylie Carmean/Daniella Miranda-Johnson) matches, the Buccaneers found themselves on the winning side of a 2-1 score; Carmean and Miranda-Johnson lost their match, but were kept alive thanks to wins by the No. 2 and No. 4 pairs.

 

The final match to finish was No. 3 (Georgia Romine-Black/Jasmine Urban) who lost their debut as a pair, but were bailed out by the ever-reliable No. 1's (Miranda Bacon/Jenifer Lauer) who won their sets by five and seven points and clinched the victory over the Redhawks.

 

With the win, the Buccaneers moved on to play top-seeded Saint Katherine in the next round of the tournament. The Bucs fielded the same five pairs, but suffered a 5-0 shutout at the hands of the Firebirds; no game went to three sets.

 

Although the Buccaneers are not eliminated from the tournament, one more loss would end their season. The day's results mean that the Buccaneers will play another match with Benedictine Mesa tomorrow at 9 a.m., who stayed alive with a win in a loser-goes-home match with Embry-Riddle.

 

The winner of the match between Park Gilbert and Benedictine Mesa goes on to play Saint Katherine in the championship match at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow from the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

 

Park University Gilbert 3, Benedictine Mesa 2 (Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 5, 3)-- Elite Athlete Training Center

 

1. Miranda Bacon/Jenifer Lauer (PUG) def. Brianna Rivera/Paige Padilla (BENU), 2-0, (21-16, 21-14)

2. Autumn Wood/Hattie Patton (PUG) def. Violeti Falemu/Kathryn McCollough (BENU), 2-1, (24-22, 23-25, 15-12)

3. Jackie Woods/Hayley Rivera (BENU) def. Georgia Romine-Black/Jasmine Urban (PUG), 2-0, (23-25, 21-19, 15-19)

4. Gabriela Morales/Avery Turk (PUG) def. Jaylynn Nihipali/Anabelle Somoza (BENU), 2-1, (18-21, 21-16, 17-15)

5. Mikayla Flores/Destiny Ramirez (BENU) def. Kylie Carmean/Daniella Miranda-Johnson, 2-0, (21-16, 21-16)

 

Park University Gilbert 0, Saint Katherine 5 (Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 5, 3)-- Elite Athlete Training Center

 

1. Kaylin Henderson/Rene Wash (SKU) def. Miranda Bacon/Jenifer Lauer (PUG), 2-0, (21-11, 21-12)

2. Samantha Shaffer/Olivia Muriel (SKU) def. Autumn Wood/Hattie Patton (PUG), 2-0, (21-7, 21-15)

3. Lauren Erickson/Aubrey Cardoza (SKU) def. Georgia Romine-Black/Jasmine Urban (PUG), 2-0, (21-18, 21-19)

4. Savannah Minshew/Makenzie Nutting (SKU) def. Gabriela Morales/Avery Turk (PUG), 2-0, (21-16, 21-14)

5. Camille Harvey/Anya Olsen (SKU) def. Kylie Carmean/Daniella Miranda-Johnson (PUG), 2-0, (21-12, 21-9)

 

*STORY WAS EDITED AFTER A STAT CORRECTION REGARDING THE PARK GILBERT VS BENEDICTINE MESA MATCH