Nov. 24, 2007
Box Score
Stockton, Calif. - Led by a career-high 38 kills from junior Kara Uhl (Cypress, Calif.) the Pacific Tigers women's volleyball team captured the 29th Annual Community Bankers Classic Championship with a 3-2 win over Cincinnati on Saturday, November 24.
Uhl set a Tiger team record for total attempts as she took 93 swings in the match, breaking the mark set by former Pacific legend Elsa Stegemann in 1999 against Michigan as she had 92 attempts on Dec. 4, 1999.
The win lifted Pacific to 18-9 on the season, while Cincinnati fell to 19-12 overall.
Game scores for the match were: 32-30, 21-30, 31-29, 16-30, 18-16.
Throughout the 2007 season, Pacific has made a habit of storming back from large deficits, Saturday night was no different.
Trailing 25-18 in the first game, the Tigers rattled off nine straight points to climb back into contention. Sophomore Natalia Tomaszewska (Marklowice, Poland) played a vital role in the Pacific run as she got the rally started with a cross-court kill. Tomaszewska then stepped to the service line and ramped up the pressure on Cincinnati. Pacific forced the Bearcats into three straight attacking errors, including a block from sophomore Masha Vaysburg (Livermore, Calif.) and Uhl to get within three at 25-22. Vayburg and Uhl followed with kills to force a Cincinnati timeout at 25-24.
When the two teams returned to the court, Vaysburg and Uhl went back-to-back again, then Tomaszewska delivered her first service ace to give the Tigers a 27-25 lead. Cincinnati, however, pulled even at 27-27 and the game was tied once again at 30-30. Pacific earned their fourth game point on a cross-court kill from junior Alexa Anderson (Los Gatos, Calif.). Uhl stepped to the service line and ended all doubt with a service ace to take game one, 32-30. The Tigers out hit Cincinnati .250 to .205 in the game.
Cincinnati responded in game two with a hitting percentage of .324 as the Bearcats notched 16 kills and committed five errors in route to a 30-21 win in game two.
Pacific needed another late rally in game three as the Tigers roared back from 26-22 to claim the third frame, 31-29. This time Uhl keyed the Tigers run. Kara started the rally with a cross-court kill from the left side. Uhl followed with back-to-back aces to pull the Tigers within a point at 26-25. The Tigers gained the lead as Anderson and Vaysburg blocked Cincinnati's Stephanie Niemer on consecutive points. Tied at 29-29 moments later, the Tigers got a free point on a service error from Jenny Custer. Uhl made the Bearcats pay with another cross-court kill to push the Tigers ahead, two games to one.
The Tigers suffered through their worst game of the night in the fourth game as Pacific committed 12 errors and posted a -.022 hitting percentage, dropping game four, 30-16.
The fifth and deciding game was a back-and-forth affair, featuring 11 ties and three lead changes. The turning point in the game came after Pacific spent their final timeout, trailing 13-11. Pacific returned to the floor and forced a wide hit down the line, then Vaysburg smacked down a kill from the middle to tie the game at 13-13. Cincinnati, however, earned the next point behind a kill from Custer. Facing match point, the Tigers turned to Uhl and junior did not disapoint. Uhl pounded down her 38th kill of the night to tie the game at 14-14. The Tigers would not face another match point. The 11th tie of the night came a few points later at 16-16. Pacific claimed the match and 29th Annual Community Bankers Classic Championship on kills from Tomaszewska and Anderson.
Uhl's 38 kills led all attackers, while Tomaszewska finished with 14 kills. Uhl and Tomaszewska each also delivered double-doubles as Uhl posted 11 digs and Tomaszewska had 10 digs. It was Kara's 12th double-double of the season and Natalia's first.
Custer and Stephanie Niemer led the Bearcats with 18 kills.
Following the match, Uhl was named the tournament MVP. Joining Uhl on the all-tournament team were Tiger senior Julie Magud (Stockton, Calif.) and Vaysburg. The remainder of the team was Cincinnati's Annie Fesl, Stephanie Neimer and Jessie Nevitt as well as Saint Mary's Lauren Jaeckel.
Saturday's match concluded the regular season for both the Tigers and the Bearcats. Both teams will now wait and watch the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, Nov. 25 at 5 p.m. (PST) on ESPNU to see if either earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
