The Park University Gilbert Volleyball team (4-7, 1-0) won a thrilling five-set match to open Great Southwest Athletic Conference play this evening against La Sierra University (1-4, 0-2) with a 3-2 (28-26, 29-31, 25-14, 24-26, 15-12) before a raucous crowd at Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, Ariz.

This was the Bucs fifth consecutive win against the Eagles after they won the first two matches in the series. This is the second time these two teams have played a five-set match and the Bucs have been victorious in both contests. Park also won 3-2 in 2023 coming back from an 0-2 deficit to earn a reverse sweep.

The two teams split the first two sets although both squads probably felt as though they should have won both sets. The Bucs held 16-8 and 22-17 leads and let it slip away as the Eagles kept chipping away until they tied the first set at 22 apiece. Park held the first set point but LSU saved it and earned their own set point. Freshman Hayven Lick erased that point with a kill and then four points later put the frame to bed with her fourth kill of the game.

In the second stanza, Park was up 17-9, but LSU would not go down quietly, they again kept slowly chipping away until they tied the score again at 22-all. The Bucs again earned the first set point but could not close things out. Each team had three set point opportunities before La Sierra finally won the set 31-29 on a Park-Gilbert attack error. This is the second time Park and La Sierra have played to a 31-29 score and LSU has won the set both times.

Park outslugged La Sierra in the first two sets (37-30 in kills), but attack errors undid the Bucs as they committed 21 attack errors which allowed the Eagles back into both sets. There were 13 ties and 5 lead changes in the first two sets/

If the Bucs had played as cleanly as they did in the third set, the match might have been done in three sets. The Bucs posted 10 kills with only five errors en route to a routine 25-14 third set victory and looked as though they might cruise home.

But as Lee Corso would say "not so fast", as another set would go beyond regulation, as this set remained close throughout as there were 11 ties and four lead changes in the set. LSU held set points at 24-21 but Park would fight back to tie the match at 24, but two consecutive kills by LSU dashed any hopes the Bucs had of finishing the match in four sets.

The final frame did not get off to a good start as LSU seemed to have all of the momentum, jumping out to a 5-1 lead to start the set and force a Park timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Bucs went on a 9-2 run to take a 10-7 lead and would not look back as they cruised home with a 15-12 final set triumph and moved to 1-0 to start GSAC play.

Individually, a few Bucs etched their names in the Bucs record book. Setter Adrianna DeMario became just the second player in school history to have more than 50 assists in a match as she posted 53 helpers on the night. That total ties Jenifer Lauer for third best in school history.  Lauer also owns the top two marks (65 and 58). In addition to the assists, DeMario also had 13 digs to post a double-double along with three blocks.

Freshman Elise Langley continues to amaze with her defense as she had 30 or more digs in two of her last three matches. She posted 30 digs tonight, which would have broken the school record of 29 had she not already obliterated the record with 42 digs two matches ago.

Junior Aliya Unseth continues her torrid season as the middle blocker posted three solo blocks for the second time this season and is already fourth on the single season solo block list and is just three away from having the most in a season in school history. Her 11 total blocks tonight ties the school record for a match.  In addition, Unseth led the team with 13 kills and hit .423 on the night.

Laila Lee returned to the starting lineup and had a solid day in the middle as well with 11 kills and four blocks. Porsche Bauer posted a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs.

As a team, the Bucs also dotted the record book as the 64 kills ties for sixth most in school history in a match and the 182 attacks ties for fifth most. The 60 assists ties for seventh most, while the 87 ties for sixth most in school history.

The Bucs now take another week off before returning to the court as two more conference foes will make the sojourn from the west side of Phoenix to Arizona Athletic Grounds. The Bucs will take on Arizona Christian next Friday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. and OUAZ on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 12 p.m.