Nov. 14, 2009

Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - Coming off of a tough loss on Friday night, the Pacific women's volleyball team rebounded with an impressive 3-0 sweep of Big West leading UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) on Saturday, November 14. The sweep moved the Tigers to 17-10 overall and 7-8 in the Big West while the Gauchos fell to 20-7 overall and 10-5 in the conference.

Set scores for the match were: 25-20, 25-15, 25-15.

Shaking things up among the starting rotation, the Tigers put freshman Gabby Cowden (Danville, Calif.) in among the starting six on the court while playing a 6-2 setup among the rotation for the first time this season.  The change by head coach paid off for head coach David Johnson as the shook off the cobwebs from the previous night and wasted little time taking down the No. 1 team in the Big West as they handed the Gauchos their most lopsided loss of the 2009 season.

In the first set of the night, the Tigers used a balanced attack from both the outsides and inside of the offense to put the Gauchos on their heels and on the defensive for most of the set.  After getting their feet wet and trading points and mini runs with UCSB through the first half of the set, Pacific broke open an 11-10 contest with a 4-1 run shouldered by senior Masha Vaysburg (Livermore, Calif.) who put down two of her four kills in the set to spark the rally.  With a four point lead the Tigers coasted through the next few points before answering a small Gaucho charge with a finishing rally that all but finished off UCSB and gave the Tigers their largest lead of the set at 24-17.  Pacific would end the Gauchos hope for a final charge emphatically on the final point as Vaysburg once again answered the call with a kill off a quick set by senrio Olivia Riley (Agua Dulce, Calif.).

After taking the first set the Tigers did not take a second to rest against the dangerous Gaucho attack as they came out in set No. 2 looking to bury the Gauchos early and take a strangle hold on the match.  Doing just what they set out to do, Pacific flew out to a small but quick three point lead at 11-8 before putting the Gauchos away for good midway through the match.  Holding a three point advantage, the Tigers extended their lead to 10 with a 7-0 run on the serve of Riley as the senior not only served the Tigers into advantageous positions, but also led the Tigers' attack with smart and decisive decisions at the net.  Twice throughout the run Riley looked for her freshman on the outside as she set Cowden on the right side for two of her three kills in the set.  Additionally, junior Svenja Engelhardt (Sinsheim, Germany) and senior Mallori Gibson (Bakersfield, Calif.) had their way with the Gaucho defense from the outsides as the duo posted nine kills in the set with Engelhardt tallying five kills for the second straight set to lead Pacific's attack.

With the match win just within reach with a two set lead, the Tigers came out of the media break on fire, dominating the Gauchos early in the third set to leave the Tiger faithful in the Alex G. Spanos Center without any doubt who would come out victorious on the night.  Out of the break, the Tigers dealt a fatal blow to the Gauchos comeback hopes as they ran out to an 8-1 lead to open the set and never looked back.  With the seven point lead, the Tigers would not allow the Gauchos to climb any closer than within five points the rest of the set, finishing the contest with another 10 point victory and their ninth sweep of the season.  Once again, Engelhardt led the Tigers offensively in the set as she posted a set-high six kills on 16 attacks with no errors while Vaysburg got back into the mix with four more kills in the set on five attacks.  While posting just one kill in the set, Cowden found a way to make her mark on the set with her defense as she posted three digs in the set.

Overall, the Tigers finished the night with an offensive attack that hit .321 as they posted 47 kills and 11 errors on 112 attempts.  Engelhardt led all attackers on the night as she posted 16 kills and just two errors, both of which came in the first set, on 39 swings to post a .359 hitting percentage.  The junior also tallied seven digs and two solo blocks to help spur Pacific's defense.  For the second night in a row, Vaysburg matched her career high in kills as she tallied 10 kills, this time with no errors, on 16 swings for a .625 hitting percentage.  Back in the starting lineup, Riley posted a double-double for the Tigers with 26 assists and 10 digs while Cowden finished her first night in the starting lineup with a career-high four kills, four digs and two blocks.

With the Tigers excelling, the Gauchos struggled as they were held to a .105 hitting percentage after tallying 31 kills and 19 errors on 114 attempts.  No UCSB attack reached double-figures in kills while Stacey Schmidt came the closest as she finished the night with eight kills on 23 attacks.

The Tigers will close out the 2009 season on Saturday, November 21, when they host the Aggies of UC Davis at the Alex G. Spanos Center.  The match is scheduled for 7:00 pm with a special tribute scheduled beforehand to honor Pacific's six seniors.