Up to this point in the season, the Park University Gilbert men's volleyball team had played No. 2 Benedictine Mesa three times and No. 16 UC-Merced three times. In all six matches, the Bucs stayed competitive, but could not pull the upset. For the first time all season, the Buccaneers faced an opponent who was not ranked and they showed they are better than their record as they cruised to their first two wins of the season against Saint Katherine 3-1 (25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 25-20) and 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-15) at the Arizona Region Volleyball Center in Chandler, Ariz.
"I think having played those teams before (ranked teams) set us up for high level competition," said Park Gilbert head coach Clay Webb. "So we were ready for whatever they gave us. Give credit to them, they made us work for our points."
In the first match the Buccaneers (2-6, 2-6 Cal Pac) were cruising, winning the first two sets at 19 and 15. It looked as though it would be an easy day. But as soon as you let your guard down, you can get beat and that is what happened to the Bucs in set three. After being tied at 10-all, the Firebirds (3-14, 3-9 Cal Pac) took 12 of the next 17 points to take a 22-15 lead. The Bucs were still able to make a set of it as they brought the score all the way back to 24-23 before a Firebird kill ended the rally and forced a fourth stanza. In the fourth set, Park Gilbert used the late set momentum of set three to extend their lead to as many as six points, and sauntered home with a 25-20 fourth set win and the match.
"We weren't very clean in that first match," said Webb. "But as the day went on, I thought we played better as a team. I think this team is starting to find their niche."
The second match was much cleaner for the Buccaneers as they were able to close out the Firebirds in straight sets. Saint Katherine made the most noise in the second set as they whittled away at a five-point Buccaneer advantage to tie the match at 20 and 21-all. Then three straight errors by the Firebirds gave the Bucs set point and a James Contreras put away sealed the set. The third set seemed academic as the Buccaneers won going away.
Contreras who had taken the reigns as the Bucs go to hitter in the absence of freshman Trey Smith, led the Bucs in kills in both matches. He had 23 in the first match (second most in school history behind the 31 he had at UC Merced) and 15 in the second. He added 17 digs and six aces and was key in serve receive with 38 returns and only 3 errors.
"It feels good (to get the wins)," said Contreras. "We've been grinding all season long and have been playing good ball as of late. USK played well, but we just played our game and played better."
Nico Gutierrez posted 12 kills in both matches but cut down on the errors in the second match, hitting .381. Setter Hunter Miller had 77 assists between the two matches, 15 digs and a pair of aces. Addison Henkel had a great day with 10 kills and no errors in the two matches, hitting .526 for the day.
As a team, the Buccaneers had 94 kills and hit .318 for the two matches. They had 15 aces and a .915 serve receive percentage. They also added 66 digs and 25 total blocks.
The men's team now has a week off before they close out their season with three matches against Pacific Union next week. They play one match next Thursday, March 25 at 4 p.m., followed by a double header on Friday, March 26 starting at 2 p.m.
