Feb. 29, 2008

Box Score

Provo, Utah - The Pacific men's volleyball team fell in straight sets to the No.3 BYU Cougars on Friday night at Smith Fieldhouse. The loss drops the Tigers to 1-15 overall and 1-12 in Mountain Pacifc Sports Federation (MPSF) play. BYU advances to 13-1 overall and 8-1 in MPSF play. Scores of the match were 30-21, 30-23, and 31-29.

The Tigers entered the hostile confines of Smith Fieldhouse on Friday night expecting a hard fought battle, and that is exactly what they got. Game one saw the two teams in a heated confrontation for position early in the game. Both the Tigers and Cougars traded blows right after another and the teams found themselves locked into a 6-6 tie, behind a service error from BYU's Ivan Perez. Three straight points from BYU broke the score wide open as kills from Johnathan Charette and Andrew Stewart, as well as a hitting error by the Tigers gave the Cougars took a 9-6 lead.

Following a Pacific timeout, the two teams continued to exchange blows until the score settled on 13-9, BYU. A service error by the Cougars, and a thundering kill from sophomore Jason Borchin (Roseville, Calif.) saw Pacific claw their way back into the game at 13-11. It was here when BYU showed why they were ranked No. 3 in the country, as they rallied behind a dominant offensive attack to score seven of the next 10 points to take a 20-14 lead. A kill by redshirt senior Blake Gentry (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) brought the Tigers within five, however the Cougars mounted another scoring run behind a few errors by Pacific taking a commanding 26-16 lead late in the game. Two consecutive BYU errors gave the Tigers some life, and they fought hard till the end, but eventually a kill by Stewart ended the game, 30-21. Borchin and senior Pekka Seppanen (Kuopio, Finland) led the Tigers with four kills each in the game.

Game two saw Pacific start off in much the same fashion as game one did. A kill by junior Jeff Hendershot (Claremont, Calif.) tied the score up at 5-5. Borchin then unloaded for two consecutive kills from the outside to give Pacific a 7-5 lead over the Cougars. The Tigers continued to hold BYU at bay over the next few points and had a comfortable lead at 16-12, behind another kill from Borchin.

Two Tiger errors and an offensive surge sparked the Cougars to claim the lead at 18-16. Overcome by the attack of the Cougars, the Tigers never recovered the rest of the game. Trailing 22-17, redshirt sophomore Clay Ostrander (Wheaton, Ill.) pounded a kill from the right side to make it 22-18, BYU. The Cougars continued their offensive attack and went on to defeat Pacific in the game, 30-23. Hendershot and Borchin again led the Tigers with four kills each in the game.

Not wanting to break with tradition, the two teams engaged in another tight battle for the lead early in game three. Tied at 6-6, a hitting error by BYU, and a kill from senior Simon Chen-Byerley (Northfield, Ill.) gave the Tigers a two point edge at 8-6. Again the teams traded offensive blows, answering each other kill for kill, until the score finally landed on 15-14 Tiger lead. Gentry and Chen-Byerley added some big kills out of the middle to keep the game close over the next few points and carried the Tigers into a 22-22 tie with BYU. Chen-Byerley then earned three kills over the next five plays to make the score 25-24 Pacific. Both teams traded errors over the next several plays, until finally the score was notched up at 27-27. A few points passed, and then a timely hitting error by BYU's Perez gave Pacific a 29-28 lead, and a game point opportunity. Borchin then missed a serve to tie the score up at 29-29, and BYU capitalized by earning two straight points to win the game and the match, 31-29. Chen-Byerley, Seppanen, Hendershot, and Borchin all had five kills in the game for the Tigers

Pacific was led by Borchin who had 13 kills, while Seppanen contributed 12 kills. Chen-Byerley led the team in hitting percentage with .571, while earning eight kills, with one error on 13 swings.

BYU was led by Perez who totaled 14 kills to lead all attackers in the match.

The Tigers are next in action tommorrow, Saturday March 1st, as they play the second game of the BYU double header in Utah. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 PT.