Sept. 13, 2008
Box Score
Honolulu, Hawaii - Despite a strong effort led by senior Kara Uhl (Long Beach, Calif.), the Pacific women's volleyball team fell to 0-7 on the season with a 3-0 loss to No. 10 Hawai'i on the second day of competition at the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational on Friday, Sept. 12.
Set scores for the match were: 25-21, 25-22, 25-23.
Playing their third ranked opponent in as many matches and fourth of the seven-match season, the Pacific Tigers shook off a poor performance on Thursday night and gave the 10th-ranked Rainbow Wahine all they could handle.
Down 10-4 early in the first game, the Tigers refused to go quietly and roll over for the tournament host. Instead Uhl rallied her team with a kill from the outside, then stepped to the service line and fired an ace across the court. Fellow senior Alexa Anderson (Los Gatos, Calif.) joined the fun with a kill off the pin to make it a 10-7 affair.
Hawai'i pushed the lead back to six at 18-12, but Uhl and Anderson delivered three straight kills. A subsequent error by Hawai'i, pulled the Tigers within two points at 18-16. The Tigers got within a single point on two occasions down the stretch, but the Rainbow Wahine kept the Tigers at bay long enough to snag a 25-21 win.
Filled with the confidence of the close competition in the first set, the Tigers went toe-to-toe with Hawai'i in set number two. The battle produced the tenth tie of the set at 11-11. Hawai'i appeared to take control with six of the next eight points to build a 17-13 edge, but the Tigers got up off the mat after a timeout from head coach Charlie Wade. Out of the huddle, Pacific senior Shannon Krug (Colorado Springs, Colo.) found senior Natalia Tomaszewska (Marklowice, Poland) in the middle for a kill, then sought out Anderson on the wing to make it 17-15. Down 20-17 moments later, Pacific forced back-to-back errors from Hawai'i's Jamie Houston, then Anderson split to Rainbow Wahine to tie the set at 20-20. Another Hawai'i attacking error gave Pacific a 21-20 lead, but Hawai'i rose to the challenge and closed the set on a 5-1 run to take the set, 25-22.
If the second set was toe-to-toe, set three was nose-to-nose, featuring 19 ties and six lead changes. Neither team got more than two points of separation in the set, that happening just three times. The first instance came at 11-9 in favor of the Rainbow Wahine. The Tigers' response came quickly and decisively as Uhl sandwiched kills around a cross-court kill by junior Mallori Gibson (Bakersfield, Calif.) to give Pacific a 12-11 edge. Hawai'i regained a two-point edge at 17-15, but junior Masha Vaysburg (Livermore, Calif.) slammed down a kill from the middle, then Vaysburg and Gibson roofed Houston to tie things back up at 17-17. Tied again at 23-23, Hawai'i made its move at the right time, swiping the match on consecutive points, 25-23.
Anderson led the way for the Tigers with 16 kills, while Uhl completed her first double-double of the season with 15 kills and 14 digs.
Houston led Hawai'i with 16 kills, while Kanai Herring finished with nine kills and 12 digs.
The Tigers conclude play at the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. (PT) against Saint Mary's. The Gaels are also 0-2 in the tournament.
