The monkey is finally off their backs. The Park University Gilbert men's volleyball team came into this afternoon's contest against Arizona Christian winless. Granted, those losses came at the hands of two ranked NAIA programs and a Division I opponent. Regardless, the Buccaneers (1-3) got their first win in program history, a 3-0 triumph (25-21, 25-17, 25-23) over Arizona Christian (0-3) this afternoon at ASU West.
"I am so happy for these players," said Buccaneers head coach Clay Webb. "They have worked extremely hard and deserve this win."
The Park Gilbert middle blockers led the way as Seth Golleher and Xander Thesz had nine (9) and seven (7) kills respectively. Both players hit over .500 (Golleher, .571 and Thesz, .541). Outside hitters Trent Williams and Andrew Libby chipped in with 15 combined kills (8 and 7 respectively).
"I was really pleased with the play of our middles today," said Webb. "We thought we could take advantage of them in that area and Kye did a great job of putting them in position to put balls away."
Kye Heaton assisted on 32 of the Bucs 38 kills on the afternoon and freshman libero Kale Rubin led Park Gilbert on the defensive end with nine (9) digs.
Overall the team set some new highs offensively. They hit .237 for the match which is their best mark on the season along with their 38 kills.
The Buccaneers have two weeks off before taking to the road to Parkville, Mo., where they will participate in the 2020 Park University Invitational. The Bucs will face off against two ranked opponents and one who is receiving votes. They will face Briar Cliff (RV), Morningside College, No. 10 Ottawa University (Kan.) and No. 6 Park University over the two-day tournament February 7-8.
