Nov. 7, 2009

Box Score

Long Beach, Calif. - Closing out their 2009 road schedule in Fullerton, Calif., the Pacific women's volleyball team suffered a five set loss to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, November 7. The loss for the Tigers dropped Pacific to 16-9 overall and 6-7 in conference action while the Titans improved to 15-10 overall and 6-6 in Big West play.

Set scores for the match: 19-25, 25-14, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12.

Looking to get back on track after a tough loss the previous night, the Tigers started the night out on the right foot with a convincing win in the first set. Led by senior Mallori Gibson (Bakersfield, Calif.), who had six kills and no errors on 11 attacks, the Tigers took advantage of sloppy play by the Titans to take control of the match early.

Down 10-9 early in the set, Pacific put the Titans away with 9-0 to break open the set and give the team an 18-10 advantage. Again, it was Gibson who did the damage for the Tigers as she served out eight straight points to propel the mid-set rally. During the set, the Titans committed eight attacking errors including four during the Tigers' decisive run to help Pacific on its way to the win.

With a win in the first set the Tigers appeared to be in complete control of the match early until the Titans flipped the tables on Pacific and took back the momentum of the match. Tied at 8-8, the Titans posted a 9-2 run against the Tigers to break open the set and put Pacific behind in a hole they could not climb out of. Leading the way for the Titans in the set was Erin Saddler who posted eight kills and no errors in 11 attacks while as a team the Titans were nearly perfect posting 18 kills and no errors on 35 attacks for a .514 hitting percentage.

After dropping the second set, the Tigers looked to take control of the match in the third set, but once again fell pray to the Titan attack, this time lead by Kayla Neto. In the third set, Neto posted nine kills and no errors on 11 attacks to lead Cal State Fullerton past the Tigers late in the set. Up 23-21 and needing just two points to take the set, the Tigers were unable to put away the Titans as Cal State Fullerton rallied for the final four points of the set to steal away the set and with it, essentially the match.

Needing to rally in the fourth set to prolong the match, the Tigers were able to fall back on their balanced attack to work their way through the Titan defenses. After posting 15 kills through the first three sets, Gibson gave way to her outside mate, junior Svenja Engelhardt (Sinsheim, Germany), who came on strong in the fourth set to post five kill on nine attempts. Additionally, Engelhardt used her offense to kick start her defense in which she posted six digs in the set.

Tied at two sets a piece, the Tigers and the Titans went to a decisive fifth set in which Cal State Fullerton jumped out to a big early lead to take put Pacific behind and playing catch-up. In the first to 15 set, the Titans jumped out to a 6-1 lead to start the set before the Tigers could respond to get back into the match. Throughout the set, the Tigers dug deep to climb back into the set, closing the gap to within one point first at 8-7 before trading points with the Titans for the remainder of the set. Despite climbing within one multiple times in the set, the Tigers were never able to completely erase the Titans' early advantage, eventually falling by three in the final set.

Overall, Gibson and Engelhardt led the Tigers offensively and defensively as the duo both posted double-doubles in the loss. Gibson finished the night with 19 kills and 17 digs while also adding two aces and three blocks while Englehardt posted 18 kills and 10 digs, finishing the night hitting .370. Senior Dancyne Kama (Hilo, Hawaii) posted a career-high in digs throughout the contest as she finished with 30 digs against the Titans.

On the other side of the net, Neto finished the night with a match-high 22 kills, completing the contest hitting .562 after tallying just four errors on 32 attempts. Torrie Brown finished right behind Neto with 20 kills while Saddler tallied 19 kills and 10 digs for the double-double.

The Tigers are back in action on Friday, November 13 as they host the Mustangs of Cal Poly at the Alex G. Spanos Center. Match time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.