Sept. 14, 2006
Box Score
STOCKTON, Calif. - - The Pacific women's volleyball team let a two-game advantage slip away in a 3-2 loss to No. 10 California on Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
The loss dropped the Tigers to 1-9 on the season, while California moved to 10-0 overall.
Game scores for the match were: 24-30, 21-30, 30-18, 30-22, 15-4.
Thursday's match was the epitome of the two matches within one.
Through the first two games the Tigers dominated the Golden Bears holding California to a combined .063 hitting percentage in game one and two.
Both teams got off to a sluggish start in game one, combining for 12 errors in the first 15 points. Pacific got the better of the early exchange, building a 9-6 lead. The Tigers maintained a slim advantage through the middle of game one, but California pulled even with Pacific at 21-21.
With the game and the momentum of the match in the balance the Tigers scored three straight points on a California service error and back-to-back kills from sophomore Alexa Anderson (Los Gatos, Calif.) and senior Jennifer Knox (Macungie, Pa.) to take a 24-21 edge. California got back within two points at 25-23, but Pacific rattled off four straight points on a Golden Bear error, consecutive kills from sophomore Natalia Tomaszewska (Marklowice, Poland) and freshman Masha Vaysburg (Livermore, Calif.), followed by another California error to make it a 29-23 game. The Tigers went on to take game one, 30-24.
Pacific carried the momentum of game one into the second game as the Tigers posted their best single hitting percentage of the match (.290) with 14 kills and just five errors on 31 attempts. Even more impressive, the Tigers led game two from start to finish. Pacific scored the first four points of the game as Anderson started game two with a kill, then served the next three points. After a California error made it 2-0, Anderson delivered her only ace of the night, followed by a kill from junior Johanna Hilbers (Omaha, Neb.) to push Pacific's lead to 4-0.
California closed to within one point at 13-12, but the Tigers responded with another four point outburst, started by a kill from the left side by freshman Meagan MimMack (Upland, Calif.). Leading 22-18 moments later, the Tigers put game two out of reach with seven of the next eight points. Pacific forced California into five attack errors during the final run and claimed game two, 30-21.
As well as things went for Pacific in games one and two, California responded in the manner that might be expected of the No. 10 team in the country as the Golden Bears came out of the 10-minute break between games two and three looking like a different team. The Golden Bears posted a .405 hitting percentage in game three, then improved to .516 in game four. California led wire to wire in game three, winning 30-18.
After falling behind 10-4 early in game four, the Tigers battled back to within a point at 20-19. California junior Angie Pressey stopped the Tigers' rally with thunderous kill to push the Golden Bears lead back to two at 21-19. The Tigers were unable to get any closer the rest of the game as the Golden Bears forced game five with a 30-22 win.
Game five got off to an bad start for the Tigers as Pacific committed two service errors in the first three points, falling behind 2-1. Moments later with the score 3-2 in favor of California, the Golden Bears notched five straight points to take control of the match at 8-2. California went on to win game five and the match, 15-4.
Anderson led the Tigers in the match with 16 kills, while Hilbers finished with 11 kills.
Pressey led all attackers with 23 kills, while Hana Cutura posted 20 kills. Pressey also finished with 17 digs in the match.
The loss marked the ninth consecutive time that Pacific has dropped a five-game match. The Tigers last five-game win came against UC Riverside on Nov. 5, 2004.
Pacific will be back in action tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 15 as the Tigers begin play in the Asics Invitational. Pacific will face Yale at 7 p.m. in the Alex G. Spanos Center. The first game of the Asics Invitational will be played at 10 a.m. in the Alex G. Spanos Center as Yale takes on Montreal.
