Jan. 11, 2008

Box Score

Irvine, Calif. - The Pacific men's volleyball team fell 3-0 to the defending national champions, UC Irvine to start the 2008 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) season on Friday, Jan. 11.

The loss moves the Tigers to 0-3 on the year and 0-1 in conference play, while the No. 7 Anteaters move to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

Game scores of the match were 30-27, 30-26, and 30-24.

Pacific came out swinging to start the first game at the Bren Events Center, proving a worthy adversary to the defending champs. The Tigers drew first blood, scoring first on a botched set by UC Irvine. However the Anteaters rallied back behind a kill from Taylor Wilson, and from there, the battle began. The game went back and forth continually, with the point spread never being more then four points. At 9-8, the Tigers' defense came into the spotlight behind a second consecutive block by junior Jeff Hendershot (Claremont, Calif.) and senior Blake Gentry (Ladera Ranch, Calif.). Despite their strong performance,Pacifc found themselves trailing 24-20 late in the game. The Tigers mustered up a comeback behind a kill from sophomore Jason Borchin (Roseville, Calif.) and a service ace by senior Pekka Seppanen (Kuopio, Finland). The Tigers kept it close until the end, however could not get over the hump, dropping game one, 30-27. In his Pacific volleyball debut, Borchin led the Tigers with three kills on four swings for an outstanding .750 hitting percentage.

A stagnant offense plagued the Tigers in game two. Again, the competition was fierce between the two teams, maintaining a tight point spread early on. Midway through the game, the Tigers trailed 21-15, and the outlook for the game was bleak. With some help of hitting errors by UC Irvine, as well as consecutive blocks again by Gentry, Pacific clawed their way back into the game to make it 27-23 in favor of the Anteaters. Unfortunately a late kill from Taylor Wilson and a costly service error from the Tigers closed the door on Pacific, giving UC Irvine game two, 30-25. Pacific struggled to find consistent offense in the second game, posting a .128 hitting percentage.

The Tigers' hangover from the end of game two, carried over into the start of the third game. Utilizing a kill and a block from Brett Kohout, the Anteaters took an early 4-1 lead. Following a timeout, Pacific re-grouped behind three kills over four points from Borchin to get within a point at 5-4. Moments later tied 10-10, UC Irvine mounted a short scoring run provided by three Pacific errors. Pacific again battled back to tie the game at 14-14, highlighted by a service ace from freshman Tyler D'Egidio (Calabasas, Calif.). The Tigers battled hard, but could not overcome a late offensive surge by the Anteaters, and dropped game three, 30-24, and the match. Borchin again lead the Tigers offensive attack with nine kills in the game.

Borchin totaled 15 kills on 26 swings for a hitting percentage of .462 to lead Pacific on the night. Gentry added five kills and nine blocks to anchor the Tigers defense.

For UC Irvine, Wilson finished with a match-high 18 kills on 32 attempts for a hitting percentage of .281.

The Tigers are back in action again, Saturday Jan. 12 at 7pm as they take on the No. 4 UCLA Bruins in Pauley Pavillion.