STATESBORO, Ga. – Pacific volleyball held leads in all three sets Saturday against Georgia Southern but could not close out any of the sets (21-25, 24-26, 22-25) and fell to the host Eagles inside Hanner Fieldhouse in the second match of the Eagle Invitational.

One of the main reasons Pacific (3-2) held leads in each set was in part due to the play of graduate Valentina Varani. Of the four solo blocks in the match between both teams, Varani was responsible for three of them, and add in her five block assists, and she set new career-bests in both solo blocks and total blocks. She was joined in the middle by freshman Mazi Smith and her four block assists – the first blocks of her career.

In terms of more traditional offense, the Tigers were again led in kills by the combination of graduate Olivia Keller and freshman Hannah Koester. The former put up 12 kills to lead the team while Koester added eight kills of her own.

In a reversal from the previous two outings, service aces were at a premium for both schools, as Pacific's four are a season low to date, but the two Georgia Southern (5-0) service aces are also the fewest allowed by the Tigers defense this season. However, senior Jayhlin Swain was the only player in the match to post multiple aces, her second such game this season. The senior libero also added 17 digs to her final line.

Sophomore Alessia Couchond continued to be involved in both the team's offensive and defensive plans as she tallied her third consecutive double-double (17 assists and 11 digs).

As a team, the Tigers size presented challenges for the Georgia Southern attack, as the Eagles were held to just a .189 hitting percentage, the second lowest by a Pacific opponent this season as well as the second lowest by the Eagles all season.

Pacific wraps up its participation in the Eagle Invitational on Sunday morning, taking on UNCW at 7 am.

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