Nov. 1, 2008
Box Score
Stockton, Calif. - Behind 18 kills from sophomore Svenja Engelhardt (Sinsheim, Germany) the Pacific women's volleyball team picked up a 3-1 win over the visiting Gauchos on Saturday, November 1. The Tigers kicked off the new month by moving to 7-13 overall and 7-4 in conference action while UC Santa Barbara fell to 10-12 on the year and 6-5 in the Big West.
Set scores for the match were: 23-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-19.
The Tigers got off to a fast start in the first set, building a 3-0 lead on a kill from junior Mallori Gibson (Bakersfield, Calif.) followed by a solo block and a kill from senior Alexa Anderson (Los Gatos, Calif.). The Tigers maintained their advantage until 7-7, then at 8-8 surged ahead again with another three-straight. This time Engelhardt propelled Pacific with two kills and a solo block. UC Santa Barbara, however, nabbed the ensuing four points to take their first lead at 12-11. The set remained close all the way to the end as the participants battled through 10 ties, the last coming at 23-23. With the set on the line, UC Santa Barbara's Leigh Stephenson delivered an ace down the line to give the Gauchos the lead, then a Pacific attacking error surrendered the first set, 25-23.
Set two saw another quick start for the Tigers, jumping out to a 4-1 edge on two kills from Gibson, one from Anderson and one from senior Natalia Tomaszewska (Marklowice, Poland). The Gauchos responded quickly, tying the set at 5-5 and taking a 8-6 lead. The Tigers never let UC Santa Barbara get to far ahead and pulled even at 11-11. Moments later, tied 13-13, Pacific took a stranglehold on the second set with nine straight points. Senior Kara Uhl (Long Beach, Calif.) led the run from the service line, connecting with two aces. Engelhardt, meanwhile, accounted for four points converting two kills, a solo block and a block assist with Tomaszewska. The final three came on two kills by Tomaszewska and one from senior setter Shannon Krug (Colorado Springs, Colo.) to make it 22-13. The Tigers coasted on to the 25-17 win. Pacific put up a team-high .364 hitting percentage in the set with 16 kills and four digs on 33 attempts.
The third set saw the Tigers struggle out of the break. Falling into an early 4-0, hole, Pacific finally got on the board with a kill from Anderson on the outside. The teams traded kills for several points, until a Tomaszewska swing from the middle, brought the Tigers within two, trailing 9-7. The Tigers made an offensive push as they scored three of the next four points to event the score at 10-10, on an attack error by UC Santa Barbara. The two teams battled back and forth for several minutes, as each team responded to the other's attacks, evening the score at 16-16. The Gauchos mounted a scoring run on three consecutive kills, to take a 19-16 lead. Pacific called timeout and gathered themselves for their response. The Tigers took the lead 20-19, off of a four-point rally fueled by several kills from Engelhardt. Two consecutive service errors, and a Gibson kill gave Pacific a 22-20 advantage late in the set. UC Santa Barbara again tied the score with back-to-back kills, to lock things up at 22-22. The teams traded kills again to make it 23-23. This time Pacific was ready for the two-point battle, as another Gibson kill gave the Tigers a 24-23 lead. The ensuing point was a service ace by junior Dancyne Kama (Hilo, Hawaii) to cap off the set, with a 25-23 Tiger victory and put Pacific on top two games to one.
Riding their momentum from the big win in the previous set, the Tigers shot out of the gate offensively to start. A kill from Gibson on the right side, gave Pacific a a comfortable lead 5-2 lead. The Gauchos would not be ignored however, as they rattled off three straight points to tie the score at 5-5 behind a hitting error by Pacific. The Tigers scored the next point on a Tomaszewska kill to re-take the lead, and would never lose it again. Pacific distanced themselves from the Gauchos off several errors from UC Santa Barbara, and found themselves on top 11-7. Lauren McLaughlin posted consecutive kills to cut into the Tiger lead, and Dana Vargas added one more to shrink the Tigers' lead to 11-10. Pacific responded yet again by scoring four of the next five to take a 15-11 lead into the media timeout. As they had done all evening, the Gauchos rallied to cut Pacific's lead to just one at 17-16, but Krug found Tomaszewska in the middle for her 11th kill of the match to push Pacific's lead back to two at 18-16. Back-to-back Gaucho errors made it 20-16, then Uhl delivered her third ace of the match to 21-16. The Tigers rolled to a 25-19 win as junior Masha Vaysburg (Livermore, Calif.) poked down an overpass to end the match.
Engelhardt's 18 kills were a match-high, while three other Tigers finished in double figures in kills. Anderson posted 14 kills on the night, while Gibson and Tomaszewska each finished with 11 kills. Gibson collected a double-double with 10 digs as did Krug collecting 49 assists and 13 digs.
McLaughlin led the Gauchos with 12 kills and 11 digs in the loss.
The Tigers return to the court on Tuesday, Nov. 4 as Pacific hosts Sacramento State at 7 p.m. in the Alex G. Spanos Center.
