Oct. 30, 2009
Box Score
Stockton, Calif. - Up two sets to none in the match, the Pacific women's volleyball team could not hold off the Highlanders comeback attempts as UC Riverside stunned the Tigers at home on Friday, October 30. The loss dropped the Tigers to 15-7 overall and 5-5 in conference play while the Highlanders improved to 4-16 overall and 2-8 in the Big West.
Set scores for the match were: 20-25, 22-25, 30-28, 25-15, 15-9.
Coming off a four set road trip that proved to be a tough go of it for Pacific, the Tigers returned home to the Alex g. Spanos Center with hopes of reversing their recent slide. However, Pacific would find itself on the wrong end of a big time comeback as the Tigers dropped a match for the first time this season after holding a 2-0 lead at the media intermission. Through the first two sets of the match, the Tigers appeared well on their way to an easy three set sweep of the Highlanders, a feat they achieved earlier this season in Riverside, Calif.
The turning point in the match came late in the third set as the Tigers held off multiple set points to put their goal of their sweep squarely in the palm of their hands before seeing it slip away. Down 23-20 in the third, the Tigers rallied with four straight points to take a 24-23 lead and put the three set victory up for the taking. However, an untimely service error let the Highlanders back into the set from which they posted three set points against the Tigers, each time being denied. Again, the Tigers rallied to a take the advantage at 28-27, but were unable to capitalize on the match point as the Highlanders stuffed Pacific's attack and tallied three straight kills, including a pair by Dominique Cowling, to end the set and grab control of the match.
With the loss of set three, the Tigers fell back on their heels as the Highlanders poured on the offense against a stunned Pacific squad. With the Tigers reeling, the Highlanders took advantage, outhitting the Tigers 13 kills to just four to cruise to a 25-15 victory. In the set, the Tigers were held under .000 hitting as the team posted a -.160 percentage with four kills and eight errors on 25 attempts.
Back to even at 2-2 and heading into a fifth and decisive set, the Tigers were unable to regroup in time to hold off the Highlanders from taking the fifth set and the match as UC Riverside jumped out to a 4-1 lead before Pacific could respond. Up three, the Highlanders would let the Tigers close to within one at 6-5 before putting the set away with a 6-1 run led by Tonbara Youpele who posted a trio of kills in the run for UC Riverside. To put the Tigers away, the Highlanders committed just one error on 18 swings in the set while tallying seven kills.
Prior to dropping the final three sets, the Tigers took the opening two sets against the Highlanders behind a solid attack from the outsides. Through the first two sets, sophomore Rebekah Torres (Wahiawa, Hawaii) was on pace for a career night as she tallied nine kills to just three errors including pounding away at the Highlanders' defense in the second set with a set-high seven kills and just one error on 12 attacks. Joining the attack, senior Mallori Gibson (Bakersfield, Calif.) followed right behind Torres with eight kills, splitting four kills in each set to pace the team. As a team the Tigers looked as if their offense was just getting started as they improved from .257 hitting in the first set to .270 hitting in the second. However, the Tigers dominance would be slowed in the third set before the Highlanders took control of the match.
Overall, the Tigers hit just .136 in the match, posting 55 kills and 32 errors on 169 attempts. All three of the Tigers' outside hitters posted double-doubles in the match with Torres tallying 16 kills and 14 digs, Gibson posting 14 kills and 16 digs and junior Svenja Engelhardt (Sinsheim, Germany) finishing with 12 kills and 11 digs. Defensively, senior Dancyne Kama (Hilo, Hawaii) posted 21 digs for the match, but her efforts could not keep pace with the Highlanders' attack.
Leading the way for UC Riverside was Youpele who finished with 21 kills on 53 swings with nine errors. Additionally, she tallied 10 digs to finished the match with a double-double. Not to be outdone, Cowling also finished the match with a double-double as she posted 19 kills while also putting up 21 digs to lead her team. Overall, the Highlanders hit .213 in the match as they tallied 62 kills and 25 errors on 174 attacks.
The Tigers will look to rebound on Saturday, October 31, at the Alex G. Spanos Center when they host the No. 23 ranked Anteaters of UC Irvine. The match is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
