STOCKTON, Calif.- Pacific volleyball wrapped up its 2023 season earning its third straight post season appearance.  After tying fourth in the West Coast Conference standings with a 10-6 record in league play, the Tigers went 18-11 overall, earning back-to-back season with 18 wins. 
 
Pacific was led by a strong class of seniors, including senior outside hitter Alexa Edwards and fifth year senior outside hitter Biamba Kabengele. Both earned first team All-WCC honors, with Kabengele also being recognized by the AVCA for a Pacific South All-Region honorable mention. Edwards went on to also earn WCC All-Academic first team. Also earning nods in her senior season was outside hitter Darina Kumanova, she earned two honorable mentions by the WCC.
 
Edwards surpassed 1000 kills in her career at Pacific (1362), ending 2023 with a team-leading 391 kills on the season. Her 3.49 kills per set ranked her third in the conference. She ranked second on the team in digs, tallying 293 on the year. She led the Tigers to two crucial conference wins, sealing the match against Loyola Marymount and upsetting 2023 WCC Champion Pepperdine with match winning kills. Both efforts resulted in two player of the week honors for her from the conference this year.
 
Kabengele led the conference in points with 4.38 per set. She ranked second in the conference with service aces per set (.39), while leading the Tigers with 35 aces on the year. She was second on the team in total kills with 353. In her second year at Pacific. Kabengele earned a WCC player of the week nod after guiding the Tigers to nine straight set wins at the EWU Invitational.
 
Kumanova ranked top-five on the team in kills (197), aces (32) and digs (231). 
 
The Tigers were bolstered by their upperclassmen, with junior setter Jenna Heller earning first team All-WCC alongside Kabengele and Edwards. She also received a spot on the WCC's All- Academic first team. Junior libero Megan Nishimura rounded out Pacific's three All-Academic first team honors, the most by a Pacific roster since the Tigers rejoined the WCC in 2013.
 
Heller paved the way for Pacific all season, totaling a team-leading 946 assists. She ranked second on the team with 33 aces, while also recording 287 digs this year. Nishimura led the team with 346 digs, adding 120 assists and tallying 27 aces this season. 
 
Sophomore middle blocker Emily Van Groningen earned an honorable mention alongside Kumnaova in the WCC's post season awards, while freshman libero Zoe Morales earned a spot on the WCC's All-Freshman team. Van Groningen led the team with 88.0 blocks. 
 
Pacific paced the league in assists with 1336, averaging 12.49 per set. The Tigers ranked second in the WCC in kills, averaging 13.33 a set, totaling 1476 on the season. They also ranked first in digs, averaging 14.58 per set, tallying 1634 on the year. 
 
Defensively, the Tigers ranked second in opponent kills and blocks, allowing 10.59 kills and 1.79 blocks per set. They ranked first in the conference in opponent aces, allowing only 1.13 aces per set. 
 
After a stellar on the court and in the classroom performance this fall, Pacific is poised for another great season of volleyball in 2024. The Tigers graduate only two this spring in setter Miranda Baptista and Kabengele. The core of its 2023 senior class returns for 2024 alongside the bulk of its production in its rising juniors and seniors. 
  

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