STATESBORO, Ga. – Pacific makes just its second ever trip to the state of Georgia, this time to compete in the Eagle Invitational where the program will face Mercer, Georgia Southern and UNCW each for the first time from September 5-7 inside Hanner Fieldhouse on the campus of Georgia Southern.

On Friday when the Tigers (2-1) face off with Mercer (0-3), it will be just the second instance in which Pacific meets the Southern Conference on the volleyball court, having previously defeated Furman in 2016. Flash forward to back to the present and the team will feature graduate Olivia Keller as a main component of the offense. The Modesto native's 43 kills last weekend tied her kills output from the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined. In her first outing as a Tiger, she dropped 19 kills on CBU to help lead Pacific to the opening day victory. For her efforts, the outside hitter ranks 2nd in the WCC in total kills and 93rd in the country.

Next up on Saturday, Pacific puts a 2-0 record against Sun Belt Conference competition on the line when it faces the invitational host, Georgia Southern (3-0). Only Pacific's second true road match of the season, it will be the first time the program sees an SBC foe not on a neutral court. Freshman Hannah Koester put up a big weekend in Northridge, totaling 39 kills in the debut matches of her collegiate career. Since the 2016 season, only two true freshmen have swung for more kills than Koester in their first three collegiate appearances (52 from Riley Patterson in 2018 and 56 from Alexa Edwards in 2020).

Should the Tigers defeat Mercer and Georgia Southern, Pacific will be 3-0 against schools that reached the postseason last season, having already defeated Idaho State in the most recent match (all three schools made the NIVC tournament).

Finally, Sunday's matchup with UNCW (0-3) provides an opportunity for the program to collect its second win over the CAA conference in as many seasons. Playing in the eastern time zone under Head Coach Greg Gibbons, Pacific carries a 7-2 record and a 7-0 record against mid-major competition. Sophomores Alyson Cox and Alessia Couchond will be players to watch this weekend, with the former tallying a triple-double (12 kills, 18 assists, 12 digs) in the win over Idaho State and the latter notched her own double-double (28 assists, 10 digs).

Start times for the weekend are noon on Friday, 3 pm on Saturday and 7 am on Sunday. Only Saturday's match against Georgia Southern will be broadcast and can be seen 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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