Stockton, Calif. - Starting the 2014 season with a bang, the Pacific volleyball team ran away with its opening match as the Tigers downed Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR), 3-0, on Friday, August 29. The win was the Tigers eighth-straight victory to open their home tournament as they improved to 1-0 with the win over the Sun Belt preseason favorites.

Set scores for the match were: 25-15, 25-19, 25-11.

Led by their sophomore outside Lexi Elman, the Tigers made short work of the visiting Trojans to begin the 2014 Community Bankers Classic. Elman, who moved back to the outside after a record-setting freshman campaign as a libero, ended her opening night with 11 kills on .364 hitting. She added eight digs, two blocks, and a pair of aces for good measure to pace Pacific's attack which finished the night hitting .329 (32-8-73) overall.

Close early on in the opening set, the Tigers used a mental mistake by UALR to put some distance between themselves and their competition. Leading 12-10, Pacific ran off nine of the next 11 points to break open the set behind a strong service game that led to a pair of aces and forced the Trojans to play out of system. The Tigers would total 10 aces on the night with five different servers posting two from the line.

Up one set to none, the Tigers took firm control of the match in the second set as Pacific's setters, junior Kimmy Whitson and freshman Andie Shelton, went to Elman early and often to set the tone. With three kills in the first five points, Elman, who finished with seven kills in the set, got the Tigers' off to a fast start in the frame as Pacific built a cushion that the Trojans could not overcome despite their best hitting performance of the night.

With the match well in hand, Pacific buried the Trojans in the final set of the night as the Tigers jumped out to a 10-3 lead and never looked back. After the offense had primarily carried the Tigers through the first two sets it was Pacific's stifling defense in the third set that did the damage as the team combined for six total blocks while holding the Trojans to -.030 hitting. Senior Gillian Howard got the block party going early with three blocks in a span of six points while sophomore Alicja Wilk finished UALR off late for three of her team-best six blocks. Wilk's six blocks tied a career high for the second-year middle, a mark set against No. 14 Michigan State in the first weekend of 2013.

Overall, Pacific held the Trojans to just .090 hitting while holding the reigning Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year, Edina Begic, to just four kills on -.154 hitting. The Tigers grabbed 10.0 total team blocks and tallied 33 digs as freshman libero Katrin Gotterba posted a match-best nine on the night which led Pacific's backline.

The Tigers are back in action at 12:00 pm on Saturday, August 30, when they take on Rider in game four of the Bankers Classic. #5 USC takes on UALR prior to Pacific's match to start the day at 10:00 am.