Nov. 28, 2008
Box Score
Stockton, Calif. - Led by 54 kills from their three pin players, the Pacific women's volleyball team defeated Portland, 3-1, to advance to the finals of the 30th Annual Community Bankers Classic on Friday, Nov. 28.
Pacific advanced to 12-15 on the season with the victory, while Portland fell to 7-24 overall.
Set scores for the match were: 23-25, 28-26, 25-21 and 27-25.
Pacific struggled with their efficiency in the opening set, committing nine errors and posting a .159 hitting percentage. Despite the Tigers hitting struggles, Pacific held a 17-15 lead midway through the first set. Sophomore Svenja Engelhardt (Sinsheim, Germany) pushed the lead to three points on a cross court kill from the right side. Engelhardt went to the service line and posted her first service ace of the night, then set up back-to-back kills for junior Mallori Gibson (Bakersfield, Calif.) with tough serves to extend the Tigers lead to 21-15. The Pilots, however, rallied behind the serving of Danielle Dupar to tally eight of the next nine points to claim a 24-22 lead. Gibson pulled the Tigers within a point with a cross-court bomb, but Portland got a kill from senior K.C. Fox to take the first set, 25-21.
With Engelhardt at the service line to open the second set, Pacific jumped out to a 3-0 lead, thanks to a kill, a solo block and a block assist from Gibson. Portland evened things quickly and held an 11-9 edge, when Engelhardt sliced her sixth kill across the net to get back to the service line. Once more Svenja began a Tiger run with an ace as Pacific scored the next four points to take a 14-11 lead. This time the outside offense came from senior Alex Anderson (Los Gatos, Calif.), who delivered back-to-back kills. Slowly Portland chipped away at the Tigers' lead, forcing the fifth tie of the set at 18-18.
A back-and-forth affair continued between the Pilots and Tigers as the two teams battled through five more ties, leading to a 23-23 score. Portland earned the first set point on a kill from the middle by Ashley Grayson. Pacific countered with consecutive kills from Anderson and Engelhardt to take a 25-24 lead. Grayson, however, forced the 12th tie of the match at 25-25. Engelhardt and Grayson traded blows once again to force the set to 26-26, then Pacific senior setter Shannon Krug (Colorado Springs, Colo.) dumped one over the net to give Pacific another set point. This time the Tigers took advantage, forcing Portland's Jennifer Sheedy into an attacking error to even the match at 1-1 with a 28-26 win.
Coming our of the break, the Tigers found their rhythm offensive. Pacific punched down 16 kills and committed just one error on 32 attempts in the third set for a match-high .469 hitting percentage. Portland also raised their game, posting a team-high .333 hitting percentage with 16 kills and five errors on 33 swings. The set came down to a sprint at the end, with the two squads tied at 20-20. The Tigers came out on top with a four kills, led by two from Anderson, over the final six points to earn a 25-21 win.
The fourth and final set played out in a similar fashion to the first three. Pacific built an early 10-7 edge, but Portland kept battling and held a 24-23 lead late. A critical service error allowed the Tigers to dodge the first set point, however, Portland earned another chance on a kill from Sheedy to make it 25-24. This time the Tigers went to Gibson on the outside, who delivered her match-high 19th kill to tie the set at 25-25. Engelhardt followed with her fourth ace of the match to give the Tigers their first match point. The following point saw Pacific force Fox into a match ending attack error, giving the Tigers a 27-25 win.
Gibson's 19 kills led all attackers, while Anderson finished with 18. Engelhardt delivered a double-double for Pacific with 17 kills and 11 digs.
Fox led Portland with 16 kills, while Grayson finished with 14 kills.
In the first match of the 30th Annual Community Bankers Classic, No. 21 Utah defeated Nevada, 3-0. Set scores were 25-16, 25-22 and 25-19.
The Tigers will face No. 21 Utah in the championship match of the 30th Annual Bankers Classic on Saturday, Nov. 29 in the final match of Pacific's season at 7 p.m. in the Alex G. Spanos Center. The consolation match will feature Portland and Nevada at 5 p.m.
