Feb. 28, 2009
Box Score
Stockton, Calif. - The Pacific men's volleyball team was defeated by No. 8 BYU Cougars on Saturday, Feb. 28, 3-0. After the loss the Tigers dropped to 2-16 overall and 0-13 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). The Cougars improved to 9-6 overall and 7-3 in the MPSF.
The set scores for the match were: 30-22, 30-27 and 30-28.
In the beginning of the first set, the Tigers remained very close behind BYU. At 13-10, BYU increased their lead to 15-10, with two consecutive points. The Cougars would outscore the Tigers 4-0, at 25-21, bringing the score to 29-21. A kill from senior Jeff Hendershot (Claremont, Calif.) marked the last point of the set for Pacific, as the Cougars took set one by a score of 30-22.
Similar to the first set, the two teams remained close in the beginning of the second set. At 13-10, the Cougars scored four straight points to bring their lead to 17-10. Moments later, the Tigers answered back by scoring four consecutive points and decreasing the Cougars' lead to three. A kill from freshman Eric Fuchino (Roseville, Calif.) and one from Hendershot constituted two of the four points. At 22-19, the Tigers scored four to take the lead by a score of 23-22. The score tied at 23-23 and then again at 25-25. BYU scored 5 of the next 7 points, which would be enough to win the second set by a score of 30-27.
In the third set, Pacific and BYU battled through 16 tie scores and seven lead changes. The Tigers outhit the Cougars by a small margin, .219 to .211. With the Tigers down 13-11, four straight points, including two kills from junior Kevin Pratte (Hemet, Calif.) brought the score to 15-13. Later with Pacific leading 22-21, BYU had a three point run to take the lead, 24-22. With time running out, and the Tigers down 27-23, two kills from Hendershot and one by freshman Sean Daley (Moorpark, Calif.) helped in Pacific's four consecutive points, to tie the set at 27-27. The score tied again at 28-28, but the Cougars scored the final two points to take the set 30-28, and the match, 3-0.
Hendershot had a double-double, leading the Tigers with 16 kills and 10 digs. Daley had nine kills for Pacific.
Andrew Stewart recorded a match-high of 17 kills for BYU.
The Tigers will play next in Muncie, Indiana on March 6 at 4 p.m. against the Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons.
