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No. 15 Tigers Continue Conference Play Against Ranked Opponents
Stockton, Calif. –Pacific men's volleyball returns to the court on February 10 and 11 for a pair of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) matches against Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State. The road contests are both scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Last season the Tigers swept the series against the Matadors (3-0, 3-1), but dropped both matches to 49ers (3-0, 3-1). Pacific will look to end a nine match-losing streak against LBSU.
No. 15 Pacific Tigers (3-7, 1-4 MPSF):
Pacific hits the road after dropping a pair of matches to No. 12 Hawaii, which included a tough five-set loss in the Spanos Center on February 3. The following night, the Tigers fell by the score of 3-0, but kept each game close.
Leading the Tigers into the weekend is junior outside hitter Taylor Hughes, who collected 26 kills in two matches against the Warriors. The first match he added 22 point-finishers, while hitting .372. Hughes ranks 12th in the conference with 113 kills on the season for an average of 3.32 kills per game.
Assisting in offensive attack is senior Florian Gornik with 101 kills on the year for 3.26 kills per game. He has also added a MPSF ninth-best 58 digs. After sitting out the first two matches of the season, sophomore Adam Troy has come up big for Pacific collecting 78 kills and 31 digs on the season.
On the opposite side of the pins, Pacific is led by senior Sean Daley with 50 total blocks, including 10 solos on the season. His 10 solo blocks ties him for the most in the conference, while he ranks third in total blocks. Junior Chrisitan Ahlin is tied for 10th in the MPSF with 34 total blocks in as many sets played.
Sophomore libero Javier Caceres is having another outstanding season collecting 90 digs. His 2.57 digs per game is good for second in the MPSF. Junior setter Patrick Tunnell is tied for fifth in the conference with 10.50 assists per set.
The CSUN Matadors welcomes the Tigers after dropping its last match to Long Beach State 3-0. The Matadors are comfortable at home this season with a perfect 2-0 record that includes victories over LBSU and Cal Baptist.
Offensively the Matadors are led by true freshman Julius Hoefer who has collected 113 kills in just nine matches. Sophomore setter Filip Tomicic leads CSUN with 200 assists. Defensively, Hoefer and junior Jared Moore lead the squad with 25 and 21 blocks, respectively.
No. 9 Long Beach State 49ers (5-4, 1-4 MPSF)
LBSU will host the Tigers after collecting three-straight match sweeps against Cal-Baptist, Princeton and CSUN. Pacific will be the fifth of six matches on the 49ers homestand.
Leading LBSU is senior Jim Baughman with 101 kills and 11 blocks in 33 sets played. Sophomore Taylor Crabb has added 96 kills in nine matches this season. Fellow sophomore Jeff Ornee leads all 49ers with 31 blocks, including two solos.
Up Next:
The Tigers will continue play on the road with MPSF matches against UC San Diego and UC Irvine.
