This is the team everyone has been waiting to see. For a good portion of the 2022 volleyball season, the Park University Gilbert volleyball team (16-8, 9-4) has shown glimpses of how good they could be, but their matches even in its wins were marred by errors and mental lapses. But those were a distant memory with an impressive 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-22) win over first-place and receiving votes Westcliff Saturday afternoon in Irvine, Calif. This was the first match all season the Warriors lost in straight sets.
The opening set saw the Buccaneers jump out to a 9-3 lead and never look back. The Warriors were never closer than five points in the set after the early run and the Bucs used 14 kills and four service aces against just three errors to dominate the first frame. The 11 points scored was the lowest number of points Westcliff has had in any set this season.
The second set saw the Buccaneers once again take the lead early in the set, albeit this time by a smaller margin as a 3-0 run gave the Bucs an 8-5 lead and they would never trail again. The Warriors cut the lead to one on a couple of different occasions, but a 5-1 run at 13-12, put the Bucs at an advantage they would maintain for the rest of the set. Park continued its offensive dominance in set two with 16 kills and two service aces against four errors. Westcliff had 15 kills of its own but committed seven attack errors and only hit .178 while Park hit .300.
Westcliff, who had come from two sets down to beat Saint Katherine earlier in the year was hoping to pull off a similar feat and played a strong third set staying with the Bucs all the way to 18-all. A Maggie Scranton kills gave Park a one-point advantage and they would never trail again.
For the match, the Bucs posted 48 kills to only 35 for the Warriors. Park hit .289, while 20 errors for Westcliff left them at .120 attack percentage. Most importantly for the Bucs, they only committed one service error. Their lowest total in a match all season. Park also posted 4 solo blocks which is a season high.
Individually, Amanda Jonovich posted her third consecutive double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs. She also added three blocks. The right-side combo of Miranda Bacon and Maggie Scranton combined for 15 kills with only one error between them and a combined .378 hitting percentage. Freshman Railey Druxman also added eight kills, hit .333 and had 14 digs. Libero Hattie Patton had 21 digs, tied for second most in a three-set match behind her record of 24 set earlier this year at UC Merced. Setters Annika Wallace (24) and Jenifer Lauer (18) combined for 42 of the Bucs 48 assists for the match.
Park Gilbert now returns home for the next six consecutive matches. They host Antelope Valley and La Sierra next Friday and Saturday, Oct 21-22 at Bell Bank Park in Mesa, Ariz. Friday's match with Antelope Valley starts at 7 p.m. while the Saturday match with La Sierra commences at 1p.m.
