Park University (AZ)

Senior James Contreras was the man of the hour as the Park University Gilbert men's volleyball team honored their six-foot-five leader before the game. Accompanied by his parents, decorations and applause from his teammates, Contreras was the lone senior honored on the Buccaneers' senior night.

It was only fitting that the battle-tested Contreras led the the Bucs to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-10) regular season finale win over Pacific Union.

Contreras carried that senior night energy into the early moments of the game. He came out swinging and scored four of the first five Buccaneers points via kill; Contreras finished the match with a game-high 12 kills, four digs and a .385 kill percentage.

The stars aligned as the match came to its close and Contreras found himself serving with 24 points on the board. Fittingly, he forced a service ace to end the match, the season and his collegiate career.

"James is a great kid," head coach Clay Webb said. "He's always trying to get better and he jumps out of the gym. One thing I really like for him is that he was able to end on a high note. This year for him was a good one because last year he was battling injuries, so he strived to be a big, pivotal part of the team and offense."

While Contreras was the spark plug en route to a Buccaneers victory, the win would not have been possible without the stellar performance of several teammates. Xander Thesz matched Contreras with 12 kills, four blocks, and a .714 kill percentage, while Nico Gutierrez added seven kills and eight digs of his own. Setter Hunter Miller had another solid performance with 35 assists.

"They played really well," Webb said. "I just challenged them to have a mental maturity, so that they could get over the hump of the lackluster plays or the lethargic plays that cost them points in the last match."

The performance was probably the best all season by the Buccaneers; they never trailed and dominated in every facet of the game. 

The ten points that they held the Pioneers to in set three also marked the fewest ever allowed by the Buccaneers- a feat they set yesterday against the Pioneers.

From COVID challenges to injuries to ineligibility, the Buccaneers faced an uphill battle all season, but the Bucs showed resilience throughout. A slew of top-ranked opponents knocked the Bucs to an 0-6 start. It was the trip to UC Merced, when they took a receiving-votes opponent to five sets, that brought this team together.

Since then, the Buccaneers went 5-0 to finish the season. With an offseason ahead of them to build upon the inspired winning streak, the ceiling could be higher than ever for the Buccaneers.