Jan. 31, 2008

Box Score

Stanford, Calif.- The Pacific men's volleyball team got their first taste of victory this season as they swept No. 7 Stanford on Thursday Jan. 31. The victory moves the Tigers to 1-8 overall and 1-6 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) conference. Stanford falls to 6-4 overall and 3-4 in MPSF play. Scores of the match were: 30-21, 30-26, 30-24.

Game one for the Tigers started off in similar fashion to several other matches this season, with a close battle for the lead early. The two teams went back and forth trading offensive blows. Finally tied at 11-11, Pacific came alive, behind a kill from senior Pekka Seppanen (Kuopio, Finland), a block from senior Simon Chen-Byerley (Northfield, Ill.) and a service ace from Seppanen on consecutive plays. That rally gave the Tigers a 14-11 lead midway through game one and a huge momentum boost. Moments later, a timely kill by redshirt senior Blake Gentry (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) followed by another kill from junior Jeff Hendershot (Claremont, Calif.) extended Pacific's lead to 20-15. The Cardinal battled back into the game however, using a kill from Matt Ceran and a kill from Evan Romero to bring the score back to 22-18, Tiger lead. With the smell of victory in the air, the Tigers began playing with a new life in them. Forcing two consecutive hitting errors by the Cardinal, Pacific was on the brink of taking their first game one of the season, 28-20. A missed serve by Stanford made it 29-20, and game point for the Tigers. Ceran missed an attack on the outside to give Pacific the win in game one, 30-21.

Using their momentum from game one, the Tigers were able to jettison out to a 7-4 lead in game two, behind a kill from Seppanen as well as great defense by sophomore libero Mark Bauhs (Danville, Calif.). Stanford refused to stay down however, and behind the arm of Romero, battled back to tie the score at 11-11. A thundering kill out of the back row by Hendershot, put Pacific up 12-11. Showing why they were No. 7 in the country, Stanford rattled off four of the next six points to take the lead 15-14, behind the serving of Ceran. The Tigers responded with a kill from the outside from Seppanen and a bullet down the middle from Gentry to re-take the lead 16-15. Service errors plagued both teams down the stretch, but the Tigers held on to a 21-19 lead late in the game. Hendershot came up big for Pacific again with a hammering shot down the line to maintain Pacific's two-point edge at 22-20. Pacific struck again with a well placed tip by Chen-Byerley to make it 24-21 Tigers. It was here that Stanford fell apart, a hitting error by Ceran, followed by an emphatic block by Gentry and freshman Kris Staks (Park Ridge, Ill.) made the score 26-21 in favor of Pacific. With the score 29-26, Hendershot found the back corner of an empty Stanford backcourt to close out game two, 30-26.

The third game started off with the two teams trading offensive blows back and forth. Both Ceran for Stanford, and Chen-Byerley for Pacific, contributed kills to tie the score up at 3-3. Missed serves by the Cardinal put the Tigers ahead 7-5 in the game. Stanford answered back behind the play of Romero, with a block and kill on consecutive plays by the sophomore, to give Stanford a 9-7 lead. Trailing 11-10, Pacific needed someone to come up big, and they found it in sophomore Jason Borchin (Roseville, Calif.). Off a dug ball by Chen-Byerley, Stanford had an open net for their hitter, leaving Borchin alone in the back row. Throwing caution to the wind, Borchin threw himself in front of the ball for the dig, then managed to get up and unload on a back row set from Staks. This sparked a new fire into the Tigers and the energy blossomed. Both teams stepped up their offense from this point, and the score wound up tied at 15-15.

A kill from Romero down the right side put the Cardinal ahead, but Gentry was there to answer on the next play with a kill from the middle, to tie it up at 16-16. The next six points saw three lead changes and two ties as the two teams engaged in a shoot out. A hitting error by Stanford and a service ace by Gentry, put Pacific out to a 20-18 lead. Stanford called a timeout hoping to re-group but it was to no avail, as Chen-Byerley put another dagger into the defense of Stanford with a booming kill out of the middle. Up 21-19, Hendershot again came through on the right side with a laser down the line for the kill, that was followed by a net violation on Stanford giving the Tigers a 23-20 cushion late in the game. Two points later, Staks extended the rally with a solo block on the outside to make the score 25-20 Pacific lead. Up 27-21, Pacific could sense that the first victory of the season was in the air, and the emotions were overflowing on the court. A missed serve by Stanford's Garrett Dobbs made the score 28-22, and the Tigers were ecstatic. A hitting error by Stanford gave the Tigers game point at 29-23. Following a Tiger net violation was called and the score was 29-24 in favor of Pacific. A long service error by Stanford sealed the deal for the Tigers and with cheers and celebration on the sideline, the Tigers walked away with their first win of the year.

Pacific was led by Chen-Byerley and Hendershot who each had 10 kills. Seppanen and Bauhs each chipped in eight digs a piece as well.

Stanford was led by Romero with 16 kills on 38 swings.

The Tigers return to the court Friday, February 1st as they take on the visiting Ball State Cardinals in the Alex G. Spanos Center. First serve is at 7:00pm.