SURPRISE, Ariz. --- The Park University Gilbert volleyball team (0-2, 0-0) opened the 2026 regular season with a pair of losses at the OUAZ Invitational, Friday afternoon in Surprise, Ariz.
The Buccaneers kicked off the year dropping three out of four sets to the Northwest University Eagles (2-3, 0-0), before falling 3-0 to the Cumberland University Phoenix (6-4, 0-0) in the second game of the day.
Park-Gilbert put up a solid fight in both matches Friday afternoon. After dropping the first two sets to Northwest, the Bucs won the third set by 11 points. Park was on the brink of taking the Eagles to five sets, holding a 23-18 lead in the fourth set. But Northwest rallied back and won the decisive frame 29-27. Keep Williams posted a career-high 13 kills against the Eagles while Athena Hice logged a career-high 12 digs.
Against Cumberland, a team that received votes in the NAIA Top-25 preseason poll, the Bucs had a highly-competitive second set that resulted in another 29-27 loss.
Game 1: Park-Gilbert 1 Northwest 3 (17-25, 14-25, 25-14, 27-29)
TEAM STATS
|
|
|
Set
|
Northwest (WA)
|
Park-Gilbert (AZ)
|
|
|
K
|
E
|
TA
|
%
|
K
|
E
|
TA
|
%
|
|
|
1
|
9
|
4
|
24
|
.208
|
8
|
8
|
29
|
.000
|
|
|
2
|
11
|
3
|
30
|
.267
|
9
|
8
|
29
|
.034
|
|
|
3
|
11
|
7
|
31
|
.129
|
10
|
1
|
20
|
.450
|
|
|
4
|
14
|
7
|
47
|
.149
|
12
|
8
|
43
|
.093
|
|
|
45
|
21
|
132
|
.182
|
39
|
25
|
121
|
.116
|
|
|
Â
|
Â
|
Â
|
Â
|
Â
|
Â
|
Â
|
Â
|
Â
|
|
Â
INDIVIDUAL STATS
|
Kills
|
Williams, Keep (13), Lick, Hayven (8), Knight, Kyla (6)
|
|
Aces
|
Williams, Keep (3), Vila, Miyah (2), Knight, Kyla (1)
|
|
Blocks
|
Knight, Kyla (4.0), Wagner, Tammie (4.0), Calvary, Lainie (3.0)
|
|
Assists
|
DeMario, Adrianna (20), Vila, Miyah (13), Bauer, Porsche (4)
|
|
Digs
|
Hice, Athena (12), Bauer, Porsche (12), DeMario, Adrianna (10)
|
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Game 2: (RV) Cumberland 3 Park-Gilbert 0
TEAM STATS
|
Cumberland (TN)
|
Park-Gilbert (AZ)
|
|
K
|
E
|
TA
|
%
|
K
|
E
|
TA
|
%
|
|
1
|
15
|
3
|
28
|
.429
|
7
|
5
|
27
|
.074
|
|
2
|
18
|
10
|
46
|
.174
|
12
|
5
|
34
|
.206
|
|
3
|
12
|
3
|
28
|
.321
|
5
|
9
|
30
|
-.133
|
|
45
|
16
|
102
|
.284
|
24
|
19
|
91
|
.055
|
Â
INDIVIDUAL STATS
|
Kills
|
Calvary, Lainie (7), Lick, Hayven (7), Williams, Keep (5)
|
|
Aces
|
Knight, Kyla (1), Vila, Miyah (1)
|
|
Blocks
|
Calvary, Lainie (4.0), Aikens, Molly (2.0), Wagner, Tammie (2.0)
|
|
Assists
|
DeMario, Adrianna (10), Vila, Miyah (5), Winfield, Alyssa (3)
|
|
Digs
|
Bauer, Porsche (11), Vila, Miyah (7), Hice, Athena (7)
|
Â
UP NEXT
The Buccaneers return to the OUAZ invitational Saturday morning at 9 a.m. MST, when they face the Westcliff University Warriors (3-5, 0-0) in Surprise, Ariz. Live steam and live stats information is available on the Park-Gilbert volleyball schedule.
