PORTLAND, Ore. – With 11 games already down in the 2025 season, Pacific volleyball embarks on the West Coast Conference portion of its schedule, beginning first with a trip to the Chiles Center to face Portland on Thursday at 6 p.m. followed by a bout with Oregon State on Saturday at 1 p.m. from Gill Coliseum.

Picked seventh in the WCC preseason poll, Pacific (6-5) enters the conference slate of games with a winning record for the fourth straight season. However, unlike three of the previous four seasons, the Tigers will not be opening with the eventual conference champion. In 2024, Portland (5-6) finished second to last in the conference and was swept by Pacific for the third straight season in two five-set matches.

Graduate Valentina Varani will play a pivotal role for the Tigers, as she is over halfway to becoming Pacific's first 100-block season since Kennedy Kaminski in 2019. More than a blocker, Varani is also fourth on the team in service aces – a team that ranks 18th in the country in aces per set and 28th in total aces.

Leading the team in service aces though is senior Jayhlin Swain with 19, and in nine more aces will reach her 100th career ace. This is not the only career milestone Swain is closing in on, however, as she enters the weekend slate needing just 29 more digs for a career 1,000.

Saturday's match with Oregon State will be just the third time Pacific has made the trek to Corvallis. The previous two meetings split with Pacific prevailing 3-0 in 1983 and Oregon State taking a 3-1 decision in 2017.

Last season's meeting with the Beavers resulted in one of the three Tigers reverse sweeps. In that match, Swain flirted with a double-double finishing with 24 digs and seven assists.

This time, the Tigers will lean on graduate Olivia Keller offensively who reached 300 career kills in wins over Fresno State and CSU Bakersfield.

Under Head Coach Greg Gibbons, Pacific is 6-5 in WCC openers and 2-0 when opening against Portland. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Tigers Tickets
Tickets for upcoming events can be purchased through the PacificTigers.com tickets tab, or by calling the Box Office at 209-946-2474.  Groups of 10 or more are eligible for a group discount and exclusive fan experiences.
 
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