Is there an adjective you can use to describe Park University Gilbert's five-set come from behind win over the University of Saint Katherine at the California Pacific Conference Volleyball Tournament today? Incredible comes to mind, crazy, unbelievable, improbable, implausible, or how about just a plain ole Wow! You can run through the whole thesaurus of synonyms to describe the match, but it didn't matter if you were a fan on either side, you were on the edge of your seat for three hours as the Buccaneers pulled off a five-set win from two sets down against Saint Katherine for the second time this season 27-29, 25-27, 25-22, 27-25, 21-19.
"What a match!" said Buccaneers head coach Clay Webb. "USK plays a very loud and emotional game and it's hard not to fall into that style of game. We battled through a lot of our own issues, but we were able to come in and find a way to get the reverse sweep."
Park Gilbert (17-6) is now 7-0 in five-set matches this year and this is the third time they have come back from an 0-2 deficit. This is the second time they have pulled the come from 0-2 down win against Saint Katherine (18-9) this season.
All five sets were tighter than the lid of a molasses jar. Only one set was decided in regulation points, and even that set saw swings of emotion and points, which led to a set only decided by three points.
Set one saw Park jump out on top and lead for a good portion of the set, even holding a set point at 24-23 before USK tied the score. From there, the Bucs never held another set point within the set, losing 29-27 after an Amanda Jonovich attack error. USK had 17 kills and hit .143 in the set to only 13 kills and a .128 attack percentage for Park.
Set two was another pendulum swinging stanza, with the lead either being tied or exchanging hands 24 times in the set. The Bucs never held a set point, despite the tightness of the set. At 25-all, a USK kill and a Park attack error gave the Firebirds set two. This put USK in a position to upset the number two seed in the tournament and get its first win in program history against the Buccaneers. Set two saw an uptick for both teams in hitting percentage (.281 for Park, .263 for USK).
Then in set three, Webb made an unexpected adjustment. 2020 Cal Pac Setter of the Year Jenifer Lauer who has been out with an ankle injury since September 16 (when she suffered the injury just minutes prior to the Bucs first match with USK) was brought into the lineup to share setting duties with Annika Wallace in the Bucs 6-2 system. While the sets still continued to be tight, anytime you can add a player of Lauer's pedigree back into your lineup, it can bolster your momentum.
Park jumped out to leads of 5-0 and 9-2 in the third set and looked to be on cruise control at 17-10 and 19-13. But the Firebirds went on 8-1 run to take a 21-20 advantage, and it looked as though the magical comeback was going to be stopped before it could get started. Three straight errors by USK, along with a Jonovich kill, gave the Bucs the lead back at 24-21. The Firebirds made one last attempt at a comeback behind a kill by middle blocker Destiney Williams, before a Makenna Busse kill salted the set away for the Buccaneers.
Set four saw more back and forth swings in momentum then a third grader on the playground at recess. The Buccaneers held a 10-6 lead, USK came back to tie and take a 16-13 lead before the Bucs knotted the set at 19. Again, no one wanted to take the set, as each team could not find the winning formula. As one team would get set point, the other team would get the next point to tie. This would become a recurring theme in the fifth set as well. Finally, a kill by Bacon, followed by a block by Busse and Kendra Zuckerman, and a kill by Jonovich finally gave the Bucs the set and sent the match to a fifth and deciding set.
USK darted out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth, and seemingly had all of the momentum. But Park completed a slow and methodical comeback to finally tie the set at eight-all, only to see the Firebirds take the next two points to make it 10-8. Undaunted, the Bucs tied the match at 10, and for the next 19 points, neither team had more than a one-point lead. Saint Katherine had the first match point at 14-13, and was thwarted by a service error. Then another at 15-14, and an attack error by Williams brought the Bucs back from the brink once again. The Buccaneers had their first two match points at 16-15 and 170---16, but two USK kills denied them victory. The Firebirds then earned their third match point at 18-17, but this time it was Bacon who thwarted their visions of an upset with another kill. This would be USK's last match point. The Bucs held the next two and were only able to save one. The first was saved by a kill by Makenzie Nutting, but after a Zuckerman kill on a deft drop shot to give the Bucs their fourth match point, an attack error by the Firebirds allowed the Buccaneers to finally secure victory and move into the Cal Pac "Regular Season" Championship match against Embry Riddle.
"We've talked about controlling our baseline throughout the season," said Webb. "In the most critical moments in matches it comes down to who makes those mistakes in the clutch. Thankfully we have the Cal Pac Assistant Coach of the Year (Justin Marshall) who works with the girls before every match to find their breath and calm their nerves. I honestly believe because we have built these habits over the course of the year its a huge reason we've been able to overcome some incomfortable situations throughout this season."
Jonovich who was named Cal Pac Attacker of the Year today had 19 kills on 46 attempts and 19 digs to pace Park. Bacon, who was tabbed for the All-Cal Pac First Team for the second year in a row had 18 kills and hit .342. Hattie Patton who was named to the All-Cal Pac First Team added 18 digs, three assists and an ace. Makenna Busse had 11 kills in the match including one solo rejection and fellow middle blocker Kayla Wieserman had seven blocks to go along with eight kills and a .455 hitting percentage.
With a win tomorrow, Park Gilbert would secure its first NAIA tournament berth. The loser of tomorrow's match still has an opportunity to make the tournament, as they will face the winner of the Cal Pac "Tournament Champion" bracket, which features the losers from today's first two matches La Sierra and Saint Katherine, plus the five and six seeds in the tournament UC Merced and Benedictine Mesa. One of those four teams will have to win three consecutive matches to secure the final NAIA tournament slot. Park Gilbert or Embry Riddle will only have to win once.
Embry Riddle won the season series with Park Gilbert 2-1, with the Eagles winning 3-0 in the first matchup at home, and the Buccaneers taking a 3-2 win in the second matchup on their home turf. For the rubber match, the Buccaneers were down two of their three top setters and dropped another 3-0 contest at home.
Tomorrow's match with Embry Riddle will be at 11 a.m. MST at Eagle Gym.
Cal Pac Tournament Results/at Embry Riddle
Regular Season Champion Semifinals
1) Embry Riddle def. 4) La Sierra 3-0
2) Park Gilbert def. 3) Saint Katherine 3-2
Regular Season Champion Final
1) Embry Riddle vs. 2) Park Gilbert 11 a.m./Eagle Gym
