Aug. 29, 2008

Box Score

Gainesville, Fla. The Pacific women's volleyball team opened its 2008 season with a 3-0 loss to Western Michigan in the opening round of the Aquafina / Florida Invitational on Friday, Aug. 29.

The loss dropped Pacific to 0-1 on the season, while Western Michigan moved to 1-0.

The Tigers opened the contest with back-to-back points as junior Mallori Gibson (Bakersfield, Calif.) slammed down a cross-court kill on her first touch as a Tiger. Sophomore Svenja Engelhardt (Sinsheim, Germany) followed with Pacific's first ace of the season to make it 2-0. Western Michigan, however, bounced back to tie the set at 3-3, then kept things close until the 7-7 mark. The Broncos took control from that point on, scoring seven of the next eight points to build a 14-8 lead. Western Michigan went on to take the first set, 25-14, holding the Tigers to just six kills and forcing eight errors on 27 attempts (-.074).

Pacific saw a similar pattern occur in the second set as Western Michigan rallied past an 8-6 Tigers' lead with 11 of 13 points to grab a 17-10 advantage. The Broncos out hit Pacific, .273 (13 kills and four errors on 33 attempts) to .061 (eight kills and six errors on 33 attempts) in the set to take a 25-16 win and a 2-0 lead into the break.

The most competitive set of the match came in the third and final set as Pacific forced the Broncos into 13 errors. Trailing 10-6, the Tigers put together their best stretch of the match, scoring 10 of the next 13 points to take a 16-13 lead. Engelhardt and senior Natalia Tomaszewska (Marklowice, Poland) led the charge with service aces, while Pacific forced Western Michigan into eight errors (seven hitting and one service) capped by a solo block from junior Masha Vaysburg (Livermore, Calif.).

Following a timeout, the Broncos were able to regain their composure, tying the set at 18-18. Tied again at 21-21 moments later, the Broncos scored three straight points on a kill from Michelle Moore, a service ace and a Pacific error to take a commanding 24-21 lead. Despite forcing a Bronco error to make it 24-22, the Tigers could not hold off Western Michigan as the Broncos went on to take the game and the match, 25-22.

Gibson led the Tigers with eight kills and nine digs in the match, while junior Dancyne Kama (Hilo, Hawaii) led the team with 13 digs.

Michelle Moore posted a match-high 14 kills, while Ashley Vogl finished with 10 kills.

Pacific returns to the court on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 1 p.m. (PT) as the Tigers face No. 8 Florida in Gainesville, Fla.