March 22, 2008
Box Score
STOCKTON, Calif. - The Pacific men's volleyball team ran its winning streak to three matches with a 30-24, 30-25, 30-19 sweep of NJIT on Saturday, Mar. 22, at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
Game one was close throughout, until the Tigers took control late in the game. Pacific took their largest lead of the first game at 21-17, forcing NJIT into a timeout. After a couple of kills from senior Pekka Seppanen (Kuopio, Finland) and a couple of Highlander hitting errors, the Tigers were able to take a 27-21 lead. After Pacific took a 29-22 lead, New Jersey scored two straight points on a block and an ace by Leonardo Paludo. The Tigers finished off the game on a block by senior Simon Chen-Byerley (Northfield, Ill.) and freshman Ted Slater (Newport Beach, Calif.).
The Highlanders got out to a quick 5-2 lead in game two, but after two straight blocks by senior Blake Gentry (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) and junior Jeff Hendershot (Claremont, Calif.) and a hitting error by NJIT, the Tigers took a 6-5 lead. The Highlanders came back to take a 12-10 lead, but a kill and block by Seppanen and a kill by Hendershot gave the Tigers a 13-12 lead. Pacific would not trail again in the game, building the lead to 26-21 and cruising to the game two victory.
The Tigers and Highlanders played nearly even at the beginning of game three, as Pacific led 10-9 after the first 19 points. The Tigers then out-scored NJIT 6-3, behind kills from Seppanen, Hendershot, and sophomore Jason Borchin (Roseville, Calif.). With the lead at 16-12, the Tigers came out of a New Jersey timeout with an 8-2 run started by an ace from Borchin, moving the lead to 24-14. The Tigers then glided to the three-game victory. Pacific never trailed in the third game. The Tigers had a perfect (20-20) sideout percentage in game three.
Borchin led the Tigers with 13 kills, while Seppanen added 12 and Chen-Byerley had 11. The Tigers out-hit NJIT .400-.157, and out-blocked the Highlanders 11.5-5.0.
Leonardo Paludo had 12 kills to lead New Jersey.
Pacific is next in action Friday Mar. 28 at USC. First serve is scheduled for 7:00pm.
