Nov. 7, 2008
Box Score
Riverside, Calif. - Headlined by 24 kills from junior Mallori Gibson (Bakersfield, Calif.) and sophomore Svenja Engelhardt (Sinsheim, Germany) as well as 30 digs from junior Dancyne Kama (Hilo, Hawaii), the Pacific women's volleyball defeated UC Riverside 3-1 on Friday, Nov. 7.
The victory lifted Pacific to 9-13 on the season and 8-4 in the Big West Conference, while UC Riverside fell to 8-18 overall and 3-8 in conference play.
The first set of the match was a fiercely contested battle, featuring ties at each of the first 11 points and 15 in the set. There were also nine lead changes in the first set, but the key run of points came with Pacific holding a 19-18 lead. UC Riverside senior Kelly Fink put down a kill and a service ace, while teammate Shannon Moyneur was part of a block assist and posted a kill of her own to lead the Highlanders on a five point burst to take a 23-19 edge. Moments later with Pacific down 24-20, the Tigers made things interesting with three straight points, but UC Riverside took the set on a cross-court kill by Dominique Cowling, 25-23.
Down a set, the Tigers appeared to be on the ropes in set number two as Pacific trailed 17-13. Head coach Charlie Wade inserted reserve setter, junior Olivia Riley (Agua Dulce, Calif.), the result changed the course of the match. Riley led the Tigers back immediately finding senior Alexa Anderson (Los Gatos, Calif.) and Engelhardt on consecutive plays to make it 17-15. Pacific chipped away at UC Riverside's lead a bit at a time, finally pulling even at 20-20 when Riley found Mallori Gibson on the left side for a thunderous kill. Engelhardt gave the Tigers the lead a service ace on the ensuing play. Junior Masha Vaysburg (Livermore, Calif.) followed with a kill in the middle to give Pacific a 22-20 lead. The Tigers went on to take the second set, 25-22, on another kill from Gibson.
Following the break, Wade returned starting setter, senior Shannon Krug (Colorado Springs, Colo.) to start the third set and the Tigers dominated. Pacific out hit UC Riverside .331 (18 kills and only three errors on 44 attempts) to .119 (10 kills and five errors on 42 swings) in set number three to take a 2-1 lead with a 25-15 win.
The fourth and final set saw the Tigers seize control early with seven of the first 10 points and never look back, cruising to a 25-20 win.
While Riley's role may have changed the outcome, Pacific could not have gotten anything more from Engelhardt, Gibson and Kama. Engelhardt was a steadying force throughout the night, finishing with a career-high 24 kills and 12 digs for her third double-double of the year. Gibson notched her seventh double-double in 2008 with 24 kills, 10 digs and an amazing .468 hitting percentage, committing only two errors on 47 attempts.
Kama, meanwhile, moved into a tie for eighth place in Pacific history for digs in a single match with a career-high 30 digs.
Krug also recorded a double-double with a match-high 47 assists and 15 digs, her fourth of the season.
Kelly Fink led UC Riverside with 12 kills and 10 digs in the loss.
The Tigers return to the court on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. in Irvine, Calif. as the Tigers take on UC Irvine in Crawford Court.
