Berkeley, Calif. - Playing in Haas Pavilion for the first time since the 2004 NCAA Regionals, the Tigers were able to avenge the alums with a 3-0 sweep of the Golden Bears to start the Molten Classic on Friday, Sept. 12. The win was the Tigers' fifth of the year as they moved to 5-2 on the year while the Bears fell to 5-2 as well. The loss marked the first defeat for the Bears at the Molten Classic in the tournament's nine-year history.

The last time the Tigers were in Berkeley, Pacific saw its run in the NCAA tournament come to an end as the Bears beat the Tigers, 3-2, in the first round. The loss marked the last time the Tigers appeared in the NCAA Tournament, ending a then record 24-year run for Pacific.  

Set scores for the match were: 25-22, 25-20, 25-21.

Starting slow against the Bears, the Tigers' game accelerated winning eight in a row to take an 10-5 lead early in set one. The Tigers negated the Bears' size advantage with strong back line play, frustrating Cal into an array of different hitting errors. With strong passing as well, the Tigers were able to get their offense in sync as they pushed their lead to as much as six at 14-8 before Cal pushed back with a run of their own. Seeing their lead cut to just two, the Tigers bounced back behind the arms of junior Kat Schulz and sophomore Lexi Elman to capture a seven-point advantage that would hold thanks to a flurry of late kills by junior Anne-Sophie Bauer.

Building off of their first set victory, the Tigers stormed out a quick 6-0 lead and an early Bear timeout thanks to strong serving from sophomore Alicja Wilk. The run out of the gate by the Tigers propelled Pacific throughout the set as they were able to again hold off a late charge by the Bears. Early in the set it was Schulz who did the damage with five kills and one ace while Elman came on late to put the set away with six more kills of her own.

After taking a 10-minute intermission, the Tigers and Bears resumed their battle with Cal taking the early lead before Pacific could catch its breath. Down 9-5 against a Bear five-point run, the Tigers were able to recover thanks to the block of Wilk as the second-year middle rallied with three-blocks in a swing of six points to put the Tigers right back in the contest. From that point on, it was a race to see who could score last as the Tigers would not give in, rallying off four of the final five points to take home the victory.

Overall, it was Elman who led the Tigers to the win as the young outside hitter put on a clinic all-around the court with 19 kills and 16 digs. The double-double was her third of the year, all of which have come against Pac-12 opponents. Elman, who was nine the last time the Tigers played in Haas Pavilion, would not let the Tigers slip at all throughout the match as she led the Tigers' passing line to a near perfect night.

Right behind Elman, Schulz finished her evening with 10 kills and just two errors while adding one of Pacific's four service aces on the night. Freshman Katrin Gotterba and sophomore Mia Feiner gave the Tigers a staunch back line alongside of Elman as the duo combined for 19 of the Tigers' 48 digs. In the middle, senior Gillian Howard added eight kills and one block while Wilk finished with a pair of kills, but came up two credited blocks while picking up with critical touches at the net when needed most. 

The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 13, when they play a pair of matches to finish out the tournament. Pacific first takes on former Big West rival UC Santa Barbara at 12:00 pm before finishing with a match against Nevada at 4:30 pm.