CHARLESTON, S.C. - Turning into five-set warriors, the Pacific volleyball program went the distance twice on the opening day of the College of Charleston Classic and outlasted Yale and USC Upstate in a pair of 3-2 victories at TD Arena.

The Tigers (3-2) started the day with a back-and-forth 25-16, 21-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-9 win over Yale before erasing another 2-1 hole to come back and oust USC Upstate 25-20, 19-25, 22-25, 25-16, 15-10. Four of Pacific's first five matches have gone to five sets this year.
 
Graduate outside hitter Alexa Edwards posted two 20-plus kill efforts en route to back-to-back double-doubles. She went for 23 kills and 14 digs against Yale then 22 kills and 15 digs against USC-Upstate. Against the Bulldogs, Edwards hit a team-leading .375 on 48 attacks.
 
Also collecting a double-double in both appearances was senior setter Jenna Heller. She combined for 88 assists across both matches, nearly tying her total through the Rebel Challenge Tournament. Heller accrued 45 assists and 11 digs against Yale, before ending the day with 43 assists and 18 digs against the Spartans. Adding some offensive flare in both matches, the setter combined for nine kills on the day and nearly tied her career high against Yale with five kills.
 
The cornerstone of the defense, junior Jayhlin Swain, led both teams in the first match of the day with 18 digs. She collected 17 digs against USC-Upstate. 
 
Providing security up front were middle blockers Emily Van Groningen and Margherita Giani. Van Groningen led the Tigers against the Bulldogs, collecting six blocks. She stood solid against the Spartans, tallying five blocks. Giani got four against USC-Upstate.
 
Both matches opened with heavy offensive power. The Tigers outhit Yale .652 to .182 in the first set before the pendulum swung in the Bulldogs favor in the second and third. The Tigers wrestled back the remaining two sets, collecting 19 kills to Yale's 10 in the fourth set, while benefiting from seven Bulldog errors in the fifth. The Tigers remain undefeated against Yale.
 
Against USC-Upstate, the Tigers opened with a .424 hitting percentage to USC-Upstate's .161. Pacific's offense faltered through the second and third sets, before the Tigers rattled off a .615 hitting percentage with 17 kills and one error in the fourth. They did not relent in the fifth, hitting .647 for 11 kills and no errors for their first program win over USC-Upstate.
 
The defense stood tall in both contests as Pacific collected seven blocks to Yale's five. The Tigers carried the same mentality into the second match, posting nine blocks to USC-Upstate's three. In the same vein, the Tigers out dug both the Bulldogs, 70-68, and the Spartans, 77-63.
 
Pacific returns for its final match of the weekend against host College of Charleston on Saturday at TD Arena for a 4 p.m. PT match start. The match will be streamed on FloSports and live stats are available.
 
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