SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Pacific volleyball team vaulted to an early lead and defeated Santa Clara, 25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 25-23, in a West Coast Conference rematch Thursday evening at the Leavey Center.
 
Leading the Tigers (12-9, 4-5) to their second straight victory, Alexa Edwards tallied a team-high 20 kills and accumulated a .277 hitting percentage during the four-set win. Edwards, totaling her team-leading fifth match this season with at least 20 kills, surpassed the 300-kill mark for the second time in her career. The junior from Sacramento, Calif., has recorded 315 total kills this season, ranking second in the conference, and is 82 shy of matching her career-high of 397 set last season.
 
Jenna Heller was also impressive on the offensive side of the ball, tying her season-high in kills with six and recording a .667 hitting percentage in the process. The sophomore from Gilbert, Ariz., playing as the team's primary setter, accumulated 37 assists in the win and continues to add to her career-high 698 assists this season, and ranks sixth in the conference with 8.62 assists per set.
 
Defensively, Ramonni Cook and Sam Sublett led the team with three blocks apiece, while Heller contributed with two. Jadyn Tubbs reached the 20-dig mark for the second time this season, tallying a match-high 24.
 
In a tight first set, the Tigers fell behind as the Broncos (8-13, 4-5) won 10 of the first 13 points of the match. Trailing 10-3, the Tigers recovered and went on a 7-1 run to cut the deficit to one, 11-10, near the midway point of the frame. After the Broncos extended the lead to 16-12, the Tigers won 13 of the following 20 points, which included kills by Cook and Darina Kumanova in three of the final four points to secure the set and gain the early advantage.
 
The Tigers took control during the second set, easily winning the frame to gain a 2-0 lead in the match. Starting the set on an 8-3 run, the Tigers never trailed in the second frame and held the Broncos to only nine kills on 35 attempts.
 
After the Broncos earned a win in the third set, the Tigers closed the match with a narrow fourth-set victory.
 
"I thought we did a great job on tough defense and focusing on the things we can control," Head Coach Greg Gibbons stated after the match. "I'm very proud of this team and their effort."
 
Pacific returns to the court on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 3 p.m., as the Tigers face off against San Francisco at the Alex G. Spanos Center.