March 1, 2008
Box Score
Provo, Utah- The Pacific men's volleyball team fell to No. 3 BYU in three games on Saturday, Mar. 1. The loss drops the Tigers to 1-16 overall and 1-13 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play. No. 3 BYU advances to 14-1 overall and 9-1 in the MPSF. Scores of the match were 30-24, 30-28, and 30-20.
The Tigers came into Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday looking to avenge themselves against the No. 3 BYU Cougars. Game one started off with promise as the two teams tussled back and forth until a kill by BYU's Trent Sorensen made it 7-7. Pacific then surged ahead, as they scored seven of the next twelve points to take the lead 14-12 behind a hitting error from the Cougars. Ivan Perez then answered for BYU with two consecutive kills to even the score at 14-14. Once again the teams traded blows as junior Jeff Hendershot (Claremont, Calif.) and senior Simon Chen-Byerley (Northfield, Ill.) added to the Tigers' offense, and helped to notch the score at 20-20.
BYU took the game into their hands at this point and went on a five point run of their own, aided by three Pacific errors in the process, to take a 25-20 lead. Moments later, a service error by BYU brought the Tigers within five, as they still trailed 28-24. A kill and a service ace ended the game for the Tigers as they fell to BYU, 30-24. Senior Pekka Seppanen (Kuopio, Finland) led the Tigers with four kills in the game.
Trying to wash the sour taste of defeat from their palette, the Tigers came out swinging to start game two. The teams battled early, then a kill from sophomore Jason Borchin (Roseville, Calif.) gave Pacific a 5-3 lead. The battled continued and the teams found themselves waged in a battle of attrition with the score tied at 10-10. Over the next 15 points, the score was never more then one point in difference the entire duration. With the scoreboard reading 18-17 Pacific lead, the Tigers turned up the heat on the Cougars and powered ahead to a 21-18 lead behind a dominant offense of Borchin and redshirt sophomore Clay Ostrander (Wheaton, Ill.).
The tides then turned on the Tigers and BYU mounted a rally of their own to tie things up at 21-21. Again the teams exchanged blow for blow, and the score was tied at 25-25 with Pacific serving. A service error by the Tigers gave BYU the 26-25 lead that they would never relinquish the rest of the game. Both teams traded hitting errors for a few points, until a kill from Russell Holmes and Perez, closed out the game 30-28 for BYU. Again Seppanen led the Tigers with five kills in the game, while sophomore Mark Bauhs (Danville, Calif.) added four digs in the game.
Pacific looked to redeem itself in the third game, and early on they did just that. Borchin started the game off with a service ace, and redshirt freshman Justin Burridge added a kill out of the middle to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead early. BYU capitalized on several Pacific errors, and rallied to score four of the next six points to tie the score at 5-5. The teams went back and forth again, until a service error by the Tigers gave BYU a three point lead, 12-9.
BYU put some distance between themselves and the Tigers at this point, using several kills from Andrew Stewart and Perez to take the lead 16-11 midway through the game. Pacific never recovered, and struggled to do anything offensively, and found themselves trailing 20-14 in the game. The Tigers scrounged up three of the next four points to bring themselves within four, down 21-17; however, it was too little too late as BYU used many errors by Pacific, as well as a crushing .611 hitting percentage, to end the game and the match 30-20. Borchin and Burridge led the Tigers with four kills each in the game.
Pacific was led by Seppanen who had 10 kills for the match. Burridge added six kills on 11 swings to lead the team in hitting percentage with .364.
BYU was carried by Perez who totaled 15 kills on 24 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage.
Pacific is next in action this coming Wednesday, March 5th, as they travel down south to take on the No. 2 Long Beach State 49ers. First serve is scheduled for 7:00pm PT.
