STOCKTON, Calif. – One team had not won a five-set match in its previous two five-set matches and another team had won five-consecutive five-set matches. The script was flipped on Thursday night as the host Pacific volleyball team rallied to defeat No. 23 Pepperdine, 21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13 at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 

"That's a very big win," said head coach Greg Gibbons. "It was a great team effort. We just told the team, 'when you focus on the process and have a growth mindset, good things will happen.' If you watch us from the beginning of the season, the girls have continued to improve. They have continued to work hard in practices and learned how to do their jobs better. Pepperdine is one of the best teams in the country. They are an exceptional team. We came out and competed and left it all out there. It's all about the ball and we got more points than they did. I can't say enough good things about how hard they work."
 

Four Tigers - Alexa Edwards (17 kills, 11 digs), Gabby Leo (24 assists, 12 digs), Jenna Heller (25 assists, 14 digs) and Darina Kumanova (12 kills, 13 digs) – posted double double performances in the win to lead Pacific, who raises its record to 7-10 overall and 4-2 in the West Coast Conference. The Waves were led by a 27 kill, 17 dig performance by Rachel Ahrens, who fall to 12-2 overall and 4-1 in the West Coast Conference.
   
Set 1
Pacific started the match on a 3-0 run with kills by Ramonni Cook and Darina Kumanova to go along with a Jenna Heller service ace. With the two teams tied for the ninth time in the set, the Waves came away with five-straight points en route to a 25-22 win in the opening set. Pepperdine hit .483 with Rachel Ahrens and Grace Chillingsworth recording six and five kills, respectively. The Tigers had 11 kills and a .292 hitting percentage in the opening set. 
 
Set 2
The second set was the most tightly contested one of the night as the two teams were tied on 11 occasions and saw four lead changes before the Tigers came away with a 25-20 victory. Pepperdine hit just .022 in the second set as the Tigers hit .156. Ramonni Cook led Pacific with five kills as the defense came away with five blocks. After a four-point spurt put Pepperdine ahead 10-6, Tigers' head coach Greg Gibbons called a timeout and got an immediate answer from his team with five-straight points for an 11-10 lead. Pepperdine managed to tie the set at 11 and 12 before a block solo by Kennedy Kaminsky and a tandem block by Sedona Sherman and Alexa Edwards put Pacific back in front, 14-12. The two teams went back and forth tying the set on three more occasions until the Tigers secured the set with five-straight points to even the match at a set apiece. 

Set 3
The third set saw Pepperdine jump out to a 7-2 lead. Pacific rallied to cut the deficit to one, 21-20 but the Waves prevailed with the 25-22 set victory. Pacific managed to outhit Pepperdine .250 to .152 in the set. Alexa Edwards led the attack for the Tigers with five kills, plus Lucy Carpenter came off the bench to add four.  

Set 4
Pacific began the fourth set with an early 7-2 lead that prompted a Pepperdine timeout. The Tigers remained in front for the remainder of the set en route to a 25-23 victory. The Tigers hit at a .264 clip compared to .244 for the Waves. Edwards added six more kills as both Pacific setters Gabby Leo and Jenna Heller each had eight assists. Ramonni Cook and Sedona Sherman each added four kills. 
 
Set 5
The two teams traded the first four points of the deciding set before an error by Pepperdine put Pacific ahead 3-2. The Tigers never trailed for the remainder of the set. Each time that the Waves drew closer, the Tigers had an answer as they hit .286 to secure the set and the match. In the set, Alexa Edwards and Darina Kumanova each had two kills. Plus, Edwards added a service ace and two block solos as the Tigers secured the win.
 
Next, Pacific will host Loyola Marymount on Saturday, October 9 at noon.

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Photos by Timothy Thymes