STOCKTON, Calif. – The #15 Pacific women's water polo team (17-5, 2-1) took down #11 Michigan (16-8, 4-0) 8-7 in an overtime thriller in Stockton on Sunday morning.

"It's our mentality. The program has worked so hard, and these ladies have worked so hard at becoming mentality tough and being able to handle adversity and being able to stay composed in a moment, not allowing one possession to affect the next or allow one game to affect the next," said Head Coach James Graham. "Every time, they're just able to reset, get out and do what they need to do, and this weekend they were unbelievably successful. To me, that mentality is a championship habit, that's how you win big games, and we won big games this weekend."

Sophomores Hila Futorian and Szamira Koppány each had a hattrick in the game, with one of Futorian's being a penalty goal for the Tigers and Koppány's third being the go-ahead goal in overtime. Graduate students Lucy Davis and Brianna Utas each found the back of the Wolverines' net to add to the Tiger's score.

Futorian assisted on two Tiger goals, and Davis assisted on another.

Redshirt senior goalkeeper Clara Vulpisi was a force to be reckoned with in the net for Pacific. She had 20 saves throughout the game for a 74.1 save percentage. Vulpisi also had a steal for the big cats.

"All week, we prepped and said it was about us as a team, and that's what we did today," said Vulpisi. "It doesn't matter how many saves I had because some girls saved my butt, and I saved their butt, and that's how this works, that's how our team works, this is what this year is all about. "I'm so pumped we did this today; it's a huge team win. I haven't had this much fun playing water polo in so long, and this team is so special. I'm super proud of what we did today."

The Tigers were 8-for-24, shooting 33.3 percent, while the Wolverines were only 7-for-44, shooting 15.9 percent.

Michigan's low shooting percentage came from Vulpisi's efforts but also the defensive efforts of the whole team. Davis and Utas each had two crucial field blocks in the game to help keep the Tigers on top.

Sophomore Addison McGowan had three steals, sophomore Ilyana Zlobinsky had two and Koppány, Utas and freshman Noemi Alaksza each stole the ball from the Wolverines once.

Futorian, Davis and McGowan each drew two exclusions to give Pacific the powerplay advantage.

"The first thing we said after the win was 'the jobs not done'," said Vulpisi. "This win is super exciting, but the job isn't done. That's our season motto. This win is great, but it doesn't mean anything if we don't win the conference. Conference play has started, and we're keeping it going next week with Fresno State, so we're excited to get prepped for that and keep it going."

The Tigers are back in action at noon on Saturday, March 25, when they host #8 Fresno State (11-7, 4-0) at the Douglass M. Eberhardt Aquatics Center in Stockton.

"It's so amazing to play at home; there's no place like this. It is the best place to experience collegiate water polo in the country," said Graham. "Our fans, our venue, what we do with our entertainment, from top to bottom, it's just fantastic. If you haven't been here, you have to come and check it out because we're putting on a show, and you'll enjoy it."

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