The Park University Gilbert volleyball team finished play in the Raider Invitational in Ashland, Ore., with two losses, dropping 3-0 contests to No. 11 Concordia (Neb.) (21-25, 11-25, 16-25) and host Southern Oregon for the second time in two days (21-25.22-25, 22-25). The Bucs fall to 1-3 to start the season but walk away from this tournament which featured two ranked teams with a wealth of information on what they need to work on to be ready for conference play and hopefully postseason action.
"We have a lot of competition at multiple positions," said head coach Clay Webb. "We spent a lot of time working on different combinations and letting the competition for spots unfold. While the match results were not what you would like to see, this weekend will benefit us down the line."
No. 11 Concordia (Neb.) 3, Park Gilbert 0
After upsetting the No. 19 team in the country yesterday, the Buccaneers hoped to duplicate the feat in the early match today, but the Bulldogs did not allow the Bucs to get any flow in the match.
The first set was tight, but Concordia was able to pull away at the end for a 25-19 win. The numbers were pretty even for the set as kills (12CU, 12 PARK), errors (7CU, 6 PARK) and attempts (46 CU, 48 PARK) showed just how close the set was between the two teams.
But the second and third sets were all Concordia as they hit .370 over the final two frames and controlled the play. The Bulldogs only made seven errors over the last two sets, the same number as they made in the first one.
The Buccaneers on the other hand struggled only posting five kills in the second set and while the increased the number to 13 kills in the third, it could not offset the 11 attack errors in those two sets.
Railey Druxman led the Bucs with six kills and added 10 digs and four blocks. Hattie Patton led the back row with 13 digs. Makenna Busse chipped in with five kills and a .333 attack percentage.
Southern Oregon 3, Park Gilbert 0
For the second time in two days, Park Gilbert tested Southern Oregon on its home floor, but was not able to get over the hump against the host school.
Five of the six sets in the two matchers were within four points, but the Buccaneers were not able to break through to take a set over their Cascade Conference opponents.
The difference in the match came down to Buc miscues in their attack game. The Bucs made seven more attack errors than the Raiders and had four more set errors. In a match where the margin of victory was 10 points total combined in the three sets, those errors became costly.
In the first set, the margin was never above four points, but the Bucs kept it close throughout. In the second set, Park Gilbert trailed by as many as six before knotting the score at 22-all after a Busse service ace. The Raiders would answer with a 3-0 run to dash the Bucs hopes of a set comeback. After trailing by as many as five points in the third, the Bucs would take their first lead in a set and led 20-17. But another run (8-2) by Southern Oregon put the final nail in the coffin and closed out Park Gilbert.
Druxman and Miranda Bacon led the Bucs offensive attack with eight kills apiece. Patton tacked on 17 digs, and freshman Mallory Turner had five kills and hit .500.
The Buccaneers now return to Arizona but will remain on the road. They will make the sojourn to Surprise, Ariz., next weekend to participate in the OUAZ Invitational hosted by Ottawa (Ariz.). They will take on Wayland Baptist and College of Idaho on Friday, Aug. 26, followed by Carroll College and Montana State-Northern on Saturday, Aug. 27.
