The Park University Gilbert Volleyball team (1-1) travelled to Oregon to face tournament tough competition and see where it stands as a program and to make a name for itself in the national rankings. They also would have to do this without the All-America and Cal Pac Attacker of the Year Amanda Jonovich who is out until September with a wrist injury. After day one of the Raider Volleyball Invitational hosted by Southern Oregon, the Buccaneers have found they can play with anyone when they play the way they are capable. The Buccaneers split a pair of matches today, dropping the first contest 3-0 (23-25, 17-25, 20-26) to Southern Oregon, before upsetting No. 19 Oregon Tech 3-1, (15-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-20).
"We are still trying to find our identity and battle through adversity put in front of us." said Buccaneers head coach Clay Webb.
Southern Oregon 3, Park Gilbert 1
The first match of the day saw the Buccaneers show a little rust in their first match of the year on the road against Southern Oregon (1-0). The first set was a back-and-forth affair with the Bucs out hitting the Raiders in kills (17-12) and percentage (.265-.16). But a few early unforced errors put the Bucs behind the eight-ball, and they were never able to complete the comeback as they cut the deficit to one on a few occasions but did not get over the hump
For as well as they played in the first set, the Buccos play was equally as poor in the second stanza. They only had nine kills against 12 errors as SOU stepped up its play and hit .333 for the frame. SOU had 10 fewer attack errors then Park which led to an inevitable 25-17 win.
In the third set Park Gilbert jumped out to an early lead and held onto the lead for most of the set. But with the Buccaneers leading 16-14, the Raiders went on an 11-5 run to close out the set and the match.
Miranda Bacon and Railey Druxman led the way with eight kills apiece. Bacon hit .500 as she only had one attack error, while Druxman, a freshman put in the OH1 spot with the absence of Jonovich showed some early season jitters as she committed nine hitting miscues. Druxman made up for it on the defensive end with 10 digs which was second on the team behind Hattie Patton's 18 which led both squads.
Park Gilbert 3, No. 19 Oregon Tech 1
One thing about teams coached by Clay Webb is they take on the demeanor of its leader. With Webb, there is a calm about him that enables his charges to rebound from losses and come back stronger. And one loss does not make a season for Park Gilbert as it has lost its first match of the season, each of the last three seasons. In 2020, the Bucs lost its opener to Benedictine Mesa before reeling off 12 consecutive wins to the take the Cal Pac regular season title in a shorten season due to covid. Last year, the Bucs dropped its opener against Montana State-Northern and went on to win the Cal Pac again and make its first NAIA Tournament appearance. In 2022, how would the Bucs rebound from its opening match loss to Southern Oregon?
After the first set, it didn't look good against the No. 19 Owls. A 25-15 drubbing in the opening set made it look as though it might be a cakewalk for OIT. But Park-Gilbert came back with a resiliency and passion not seen in many teams. The Buccaneers ticked off three straight sets to take a 3-1 win and earn the Bucs its first win over a top-20 team in program history.
"I was pleased with how the team stayed composed after the first set," said Webb "We were able to overcome some mental errors to get a win against a very talented team. We are just starting to see the true potential this team has."
The Buccaneers showed flashes of that potential in this match, especially in the third and fourth sets when they hit .412 and .385 as a team with 29 kills and only five errors combined.
Druxman, shook off her shaky first match and showed why as a freshman she can be in the OH1 position. She had 16 kills, which ties the freshman record set by Jonovich in the 2020 season. Although Druxman was able to match the total in just her second match, while Jonovich set the mark in her fourth match. Druxman hit .406 with only three hitting errors and she also pitched in seven digs.
Bacon had her second consecutive solid match with 11 kills and hit .450. JC transfer Maggie Scranton also contributed with nine kills while hitting .333. Makenna Busse added seven putaways and Annika Wallace had 24 assists.
The Bucs hit .292 as a team with 50 kills and 17 errors.
Park Gilbert doesn't get a chance to catch its breath as it faces No. 11 Concordia tomorrow morning starting at 10:30 a.m. followed by a rematch with host Southern Oregon at 3:30 p.m.
