STOCKTON, Calif. – Coming off a thrilling upset win over #12 BYU during Homecoming & Family Weekend, the Pacific volleyball team continues conference play as it travels to Santa Clara on Thursday, Oct. 20, followed by a home contest against San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 22.
The Tigers (11-9, 3-5) earned their most significant win of the season last weekend, defeating the Cougars in a five-set thriller at the Alex G. Spanos Center. Alexa Edwards and Biamba Kabengele were the team's dominant hitters throughout the match, recording 18 and 17 kills, respectively. The duo also collected double-doubles as Edwards registered her team-leading eighth of the season with 12 digs, while Kabengele added 12 digs for her sixth double-double.
Edwards, the reigning WCC Offensive Player of the Week, continues to be a dominant offensive force this season, ranking among the conference's best in multiple statistical categories. The junior from Sacramento, Calif., ranks second in the conference with 295 total kills, third in kills per set with 3.98, and fourth in service aces per set with 0.40.
Santa Clara sits one place above the Tigers in the conference standings in fifth place and enters Thursday's contest on a two-match winning streak after defeating Portland and Gonzaga last week. Julia Sangiacomo continues to lead the Broncos (8-12, 4-4) offensively, emerging as the team's primary weapon, ranking first in the conference in total kills with 302. The junior outside hitter also ranks first in the conference in kills per set by a wide margin, tallying a ratio of 4.38.
Since the first-ever meeting during the 1975 season, the Tigers have defeated the Broncos 35 times, with 14 coming on the road. The Broncos, however, have seen recent success, including taking the first matchup of the season, 3-1, on September 27.
Following a brief stint on the road, Pacific returns home to face off against San Francisco for the first time this season. The Dons (9-10, 2-6) are currently on a two-match winning streak after picking up their first conference wins of the season, defeating Gonzaga and Portland at home last week.
The ninth-place Dons rank second in the conference with 908 kills and are among only three teams within the conference to surpass the 900-kill threshold this season. Claire Crijns leads the team with 204 kills, while three other team members have registered at least 100 kills this season. Defensively, the Dons rank sixth in the league in blocks with 138 blocks, while Orsula Staka leads the team with 64.
The Tigers hold a commanding 31-5 advantage over the Dons since the first meeting in the 1975 season. Winning 15 of the last 18 contests since rejoining the conference in 2013, the Tigers defeated the Dons twice last season, 3-1 at the Alex G. Spanos Center on September 28, and then earned a 3-0 sweep on the road the following month.
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