Stockton, Calif. - The University of the Pacific volleyball team will begin its wrap up of the first half of West Coast Conference play on Thursday when they face Santa Clara and start the second half of conference play on Saturday with a contest against San Francisco. The Tigers, who started conference play with a pair of losses to nationally-ranked BYU and San Diego, came back with a four-game winning streak including a win over nationally-ranked Pepperdine. Currently, Pacific finds itself in fifth place in the WCC standings, one game out of a tie for third with Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. BYU and San Diego share the league lead with an 8-0 mark as the two teams will face one another on Friday night in Provo, Utah.  

at Santa Clara
MATCH DETAILS:
Teams: University of the Pacific (5-12, 4-4 WCC) at Santa Clara (7-11, 3-5 WCC)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 21
Time: 7 p.m. (PT)
Location: Santa Clara, Calif. | Leavey Center
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=362158
Live Video: https://wccsports.com/watch/?sid=468312

Santa Clara Quick Facts
• Name: Santa Clara University
• Location: Santa Clara, Calif.
• Nickname: Broncos
• Head Coach: Erin Lindsey 
• Last win for Pacific: Feb. 23, 2021 
• Last win for Pacific in Santa Clara: Oct. 19, 2017
• Series Note: The Broncos have won four of the last five meetings. Prior to that, Pacific had won five-straight in the series history.

at San Francisco
MATCH DETAILS:
Teams:  University of the Pacific (5-11, 4-3 WCC)^* at San Francisco (0-16, 0-8 WCC)^*
* - record as of 10/19
Date: Saturday, Oct. 23
Time: Noon
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Live Stats: https://wccsports.com/watch/?sid=468316 
Live Video: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=sanf 

San Francisco Quick Facts
• Name: University of San Francisco
• Location: San Francisco, Calif.
• Nickname: Dons
• Head Coach: Diogo Silva
• Last win for Pacific: Sept. 28, 2021 
• Last win for Pacific in San Francisco: Oct. 1, 2019
• Series Note: The Tigers have won 14 of the last 16 meetings.

Last Time Out
The Pacific volleyball team dropped a 25-17, 25-18, 25-23 decision to host Saint Mary's in a West Coast Conference matchup on October 15. The Tigers were led by a 12 and 10 kill performance by Darina Kumanova and Alexa Edwards, respectively. Both Kumanova and Edwards posted a team-best .214 hitting percentage. Plus, Sedona Shermanhad four kills and three blocks, Jenna Heller added 24 assists and Jadyn Tubbs provided 22 digs and two service aces in the loss.  

NCAA Rankings
Alexa Edwards
 - 35th in Attacks (805)
 - 40th in Attacks per set (11.18) 
 - 53rd in Kills (273)
 - 76th in Kills per set (3.79)

Jenna Heller
 - 43rd in Service Aces (29)
 - 56th in Aces per set (0.43)

Jadyn Tubbs
- 63rd in Total Digs (318) 
- 96th in Digs per set (4.42)

Seeing Double
Freshman Jenna Heller leads the Tigers with nine double double performances; plus sophomore Alexa Edwards has had a double double in three of her last four matches en route to eight on the entire season. Other Tigers with double double performances include sophomore Darina Kumanova and senior Gabby Leo have each posted three.

Ace
Senior Jadyn Tubbs has served up a service ace in the last six matches for the Tigers. Plus, freshman Jenna Heller has recorded an ace in 13 of 16 matches.

A Look Back at the Historic Win over No. 23 Pepperdine
The win over the Wave was the Tigers first win over a nationally-ranked team since Sept. 25, 2014, when Pacific defeated then No. 21 Loyola Marymount, 20-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-11. Furthermore, it is just the third time since 2009 that Pacific has beat a nationally-ranked team at home.

Kumanova Earns Weekly Honor from ASVR
Sophomore Darina Kumanova was named the ASVR Global Player of the Week for her efforts, last week. Kumanova was instrumental in the Tigers' efforts win over nationally-ranked Pepperdine and a heartbreaking five-set loss to Loyola Marymount. In the win over Pepperdine, she had a double double with 12 kills and 13 digs. She delivered the game-winning kill against the Wave in the fifth and deciding set. Against Loyola Marymount, Kumanova posted 13 kills and eight digs in the loss. Past Pacific honorees include Svenja Engelhardt in 2010 en route to being named the ASVR Player of the Year. Engelhardt was a three-time honoree and former Tiger Natalia Tomaszewska received recognition in 2008. 

Single Digits
Pacific had just eight hitting errors to go along with 31 kills in the straight-set win over Portland (Sept. 30). The last time that Pacific had single-digit hitting errors was in a nine-error effort against Portland (Nov. 10, 2018). Pacific has had single-digit hitting errors on three occasions since 2015. The last time that they had eight was against Little Rock on August 29, 2014.

Block Party
The Tigers are averaging 1.80 blocks per set including a season-high 12 blocks in the five-set loss to Cal (Sept. 4). The 12 blocks are the most by a Pacific team since a 12 block effort at Portland on October 10, 2019. Kennedy Kaminsky leads the Tigers with 45 blocks – 12 block solos and 33 block assists. In nine matches, most recently at Gonzaga, the Tigers have recorded double-figure block assists. Pacific recorded a season-high 18 against CSUN (Sept. 11). The 18 were the most since a 22-block assist effort against Pepperdine on Nov. 3, 2018. 

Home Sweet Home
With the win over USF on Sept. 28, the Tigers have won eight of its last nine conference home openers. Plus, Pacific has now won nine of its last ten meetings at home against the University of San Francisco. The lone blemish came last spring on Feb. 9, 2021.  

Bringing the Hammer
In the five-set win over Pepperdine (Oct. 7), the Tigers put down a season-high 67 kills. The 67 kills are the most since a 71-kill effort against Santa Clark on Feb. 23, 2021. Also, Pacific hit .239 in the win against Pepperdine – its third highest hitting percentage of the season.

All-Tournament Honors
• Ramonni Cook (Elk Grove, Calif.) was named to the Sacramento State All-Tournament Team. Cook averaged 2.67 kills per set and a .197 hitting percentage, plus she also averaged 0.67 blocks. In the Tigers' four-set win over CSUN, she had 10 kills en route to a .304 hitting percentage to go along with four blocks. The night before in a five-set loss to Sacramento State, she had 13 kills and three blocks. 
• Alexa Edwards (Sacramento, Calif.), Darina Kumanova (Sofia, Bulgaria) and Jadyn Tubbs (Turlock, Calif.) were named to the Pacific Community Classic All-Tournament Team. Edwards, a sophomore outside hitter from Sacramento, had 50 kills and a .252 hitting percentage to go along with six blocks in the three matches to lead Pacific. She recorded a season-high 21 kills in the five-set loss to Cal. She started the tournament with an 18-kill performance in the straight-set win over Tarleton State. 

Kumanova, a sophomore outside hitter from Sofia, Bulgaria, has made an immediate impact after transferring in from UMBC. She had 31 kills and a .194 hitting percentage and a team-best 10 service aces. Kumanova had five service aces in the straight-set win over UC San Diego.

Tubbs, a senior libero from Turlock, had a team-best 56 digs and five service aces in the three matches. All five of her service aces came in the straight-set win over Tarleton State.

Serving Up Aces
Pacific has had 12 service aces in three matches, most recently against USF (Sept. 28). The 12 aces are the most by a Pacific squad since they also had 12 aces against Alabama State on Sept. 7, 2018. Of note, Pacific had 13 service aces against the University of San Francisco on October 21, 2017.

Setting Up for Success
Pacific is using a pair of setters – Jenna Heller and Gabby Leo – to set up its attack. Heller leads the Tigers with 412 assists and Leo has 247.

Family Tree
Alexa Edwards (Sacramento, Calif.), Jenna Heller (Gilbert, Ariz.) and Sammie Sublett (Ramona, Calif.) are second generation members of the Tigers. Cathy Lumb-Edwards, the mother of Alexa Edwards,  played for the Tigers from 1980-83 and served as a graduate assistant for Pacific's 1986 national championship team. Heller is the third member of her family to attend Pacific, as her father DJ (1989-90) played baseball while her mother Melanie Beckenhauer-Heller (1988-91) was a two-time All-American on the volleyball team. Sublett's mother, Leona Bielefeld-Sublett (1985-88), was a player on both of the Tigers' 1985 and 1986 national championship teams.
 
Classroom Success
The Tigers' Gabby Leo was named to the West Coast Conference All-Academic Team for a second-straight year for her efforts in the classroom. At the conclusion of each athletic season, the WCC selects an all-academic squad for each WCC-sponsored sport. To be considered, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average, while also being a significant contributor to her team.