Sept. 5, 2009

Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - Facing off against the No. 5 Florida Gators in the championship match of the 2009 Community Bankers Classic, the Pacific women's volleyball team dropped their first match of the season, falling 3-1, on Saturday, September 5. The loss dropped Pacific to 4-1 on the year while the Gators improved to 5-0 on the year.

Set scores for the match were: 25-14, 20-25, 25-19, 25-21.

For the third time in as many year, the Tigers took part in the Community Bankers Classic championship match, facing their second straight top-25 opponent in the tournament's final match.  Locked in their first fight of the 2009 season, the Tigers were unable to overcome a Gator attack that hit .321 in the match despite a valiant effort defensively at the net and on the floor.

To open the match, the Gators picked up from where they left off the night before against Stanford, using their late set momentum from their opening match to break out to a quick lead against Pacific.  From the outset, Florida controlled the flow of the set, breaking out to a 12-5 lead in the first set of the night before the Tigers could respond.  The Gators took advantage of a balanced attack to keep Pacific on its heels as seven different Florida attackers posted kills in the set.  Lauren Bledsoe and Callie Rivers led they way with three kills a piece while the Gators posted 16 kills and just two errors in 28 swings.  Defensively, the Gators posted six blocks in the set to keep Pacific at bay.

Down one set, the Tigers came out firing in set number two, flipping the tables on the Gators at the net.  After earning the first three points of the set, the Tigers held their small lead throughout the set, pushing it to as much as seven points at 23-16. Despite posting just eight kills and eight errors in the first set, Pacific dropped in 15 kills in the second set led by senior Mallori Gibson's (Bakersfield, Calif.) six kills in the set.  Additionally, the Tigers made adjustments to the Gators' attack from set one, posting 4.5 team blocks in the set with Gibson tallying three and senior Masha Vaysburg (Livermore, Calif.) tallying four.

Tied at one set each, the two teams traded points to start the third set with neither team being able to find their rhythm on the offensive side of the ball.  Tied at 11-11, the Gators grabbed hold of the set with a 5-1 run, initiated by a trio of kills from the Gator front line and capped by a service ace from Rivers.  With a four point lead in hand, Florida would hold off the Tigers' late set advances to capture the set and grab the two set to one lead.

In what would become the fourth and decisive set of the championship match, the Tigers would again flip the tables on the Gators early in the set, jumping out to a 12-6 lead.  In the early run, senior Olivia Riley (Agua Dulce, Calif.) led the way for the Tigers on the floor, serving up a pair of aces from behind the service line while also setting up seven Tiger kills including a trio of kills from Gibson who finished the set with five kills on eight attempts with no errors.  Despite the quick lead, Pacific would see its advantage evaporate behind a 6-0 run from the Gators as Colleen Ward served six straight points to put Florida back into the set.

With the momentum back on their side, the Gators would trade points with the Tigers until finally capturing their first lead of the set at 17-16, a lead they would not relinquish back to Pacific.  The Gators closed out the 2009 Community Bankers Classic championship in strong fashion as they finished the set on a 5-1 run, capping the match with a kill from Ward, her fourth of the set.

For the match, Ward led the way for the Gators with 15 kills and just four errors in 31 swings while Lauren Bledsoe posted 12 kills and Kelly Murphy and Kristy Jaeckel each added 10 a piece.  In addition, both Murphy and Jaekel closed out the match with double-doubles after Murphy added 24 assists and Jaeckel posted 10 digs in the match. Jaekel Ward and Bledsoe were all named to the all-tournament team after the match while Elyse Cusack earned tournament MVP honors with 16 digs in the championship match.

Pacific was led by Gibson who posted 16 kills and just two errors on 32 swings.  She also added three digs and four blocks to her totals for the match.  Junior Svenja Engelhardt (Sinsheim, Germany) closed out the match with 15 kills, eight digs, four blocks and one service ace to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.  Joining the junior outside hitter on the all-tournament team was senior Dancyne Kama (Hilo, Hawaii) as she posted 13 digs from the back row for the Tigers in the match.

Prior to the championship match, No. 11 Stanford defeated San Jose State, 3-0, in the consolation match of the tournament.  Leading the way was Cassidy Lichtman who posted 10 kills and just one error on 15 swings to earn all-tournament honors.

Pacific will be back in action on Friday, September 11, in the Miami (OH) tournament in Oxford, Ohio.  The Tigers will take on Troy to kick off the tourament at 3:00 pm PST.