Mesa, Ariz. -- The men's volleyball team at Park University Gilbert dropped their fifth conference match to the Red Hawks of Simpson University, 3-0 on Saturday night. 

The first set looked to be promising for the Buccaneers as they took the Red Hawks to a overflowing 32-34 set. They dominated with 22 kills, however, it was counteracted a staggering eleven errors in the first set alone. Wrapping up the first stanza, Simpson hit .333 while the Bucs finished .299.

Sitting second in the California Pacific Conference, Simpson played up to their potential in the second and third sets. The Red Hawks went on a 8-3 scoring run to open up the third, following a big kill from Flavio Mercado. The Buccaneers responded by going on a short run of their own, with help from two Simpson service errors. Regardless of their efforts, Park could not keep up with the Red Hawks 41 overall kills.

During the final set, the Red Hawks held their own with 14 kills and just three errors, while Park struggled to find their balance, recording nine errors and hitting -.120. Where Simpson truly shone was on the blocks stat line with 17, holding their competition to just three.

David Shafer led the Buccaneers with 10 kills, with Nico Gutierrez just behind claiming nine. Ben Turcinec had six on the night. Hunter Miller, Jake Burdick, and Tyler Yu had a combine 29 assists.

The Buccaneers will host the University of California-Merced on March 5 at 12 p.m. at Bell Bank Park in their seventh round of Cal Pac play.