SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Pacific Tigers moved their win streak to three matches after defeating UC Riverside in five sets (25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12) Thursday night at Spartan Gym in their first match at the SJSU Invite.
Pacific (3-1) wasted no time jumping out to a two-set lead before a Highlanders (1-2) comeback forced the Tigers to grit out a fifth set win. Powering the team to the win was a well-rounded performance from several student-athletes. No Tiger personified the well-rounded approach like sophomore setter
Alessia Couchond – who posted her first double-double (23 assists, 12 digs) of the season while also serving up a career best five aces from the service line. The five aces make her the third Tiger since the 2023 season with five aces in a match (Aly Cox, 2025 and Biamba Kabengele, 2023).
The service ace was a major component of the Tigers attack during the night, serving up 16 total aces – giving the program its single match high since at least the 2009 season.
Junior
Nicole Zake posted her third consecutive double-double, leading the team with 14 kills and contributing ten digs from the back row. Over the past three matches Zake is swinging for 2.9 kills/set and averaging just under 14 kills a match (13.6).
Rounding out the Tigers' night offensively, graduate
Hanna Vorhies reached double digit kills at ten while sophomore
Chloe Giehtbrock chipped in 15 assists setting.
Defensively, sophomore libero
Bella Gutierrez paced the team with 19 digs to continue her torrid start to the season. After Thursday's match, the sophomore is ranked top-100 nationally in digs per set (31st, 4.75) and total digs (71st, 57).
Pacific is back in Spartan Gym later today at the team takes on host San Jose State at 6 p.m. on the Mountain West Network
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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