Nov. 22, 2008
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Outside hitters Mallori Gibson and Alexa Anderson each had 12 kills to lead Pacific to a 25-18, 25-20, 25-19 sweep over UC Davis in a Big West Conference women's volleyball match at the Pavilion Saturday night in front of 303.
The Aggies end their season at 12-17 overall and 4-12 in conference play. The Tigers move to 11-15 for the season and 10-6 in league.
The match also represented the final contest for UC Davis seniors Renee Ibekwe, Chantal Paschetta, Michelle Nelson and Erin Turner.
Sophomore middle blocker Julie King hammered out nine kills and hit .419 for the Aggies, while Ibekwe chipped in eight kils and 10 digs.
In addition to the Tiger outsides, sophomore Svenja Engelhardt served up four of her team's eight aces.
Both teams engaged in a closely fought battle in the first set, with neither leading by more than one point for most of the early going. Sophomore outside hitter Kayla Varney had nine kills, eight of which came in the first 20 points of the frame. UC Davis took a 15-14 lead on Katie Denny's kill in the middle, but that sparked an 8-1 Pacific run. Englehardt posted a pair of aces during that stretch, helping her team craft a 22-16 advantage. Anderson sent a kill through the Aggies' block for the Tigers' 23rd point, then fired the set-winner down the line three serves later.
In contrast to the opener, the scoring trends in the second set were far more volatile. UC Davis committed six hitting errors to fall behind by an 11-3 deficit, then King had five kills in the Aggies' 11-3 comeback effort, tying the game at 14-14. Again, Pacific broke open the set with help of two Engelhardt aces, scoring six straight points to a 21-15 lead. Gibson recorded seven kills in the second set, mostly on tools near the right antenna.
The two teams again battled in a close matchup for the first half of the third set, posting 11 ties to a 12-12 draw. Engelhardt then picked up a kill and block to help Pacific take a 15-12 edge, then Natalia Tomaszewska went to the service line to help extend that advantage to 20-13. UC Davis never managed to close the gap to less than five points, and Anderson had two kills down the stretch to seal the victory.
All four Aggie seniors saw action in the match, including Turner, who had been sidelined for most of the year due to injury. Nelson rotated as usual as a serving specialist, Paschetta played in the second and third sets and had two kills with three digs; and Turner posted three kills on six swings in her two-set appearance.
With 12 wins for the year, UC Davis compiled more victories than their three previous years combined under first-year head coach Jamie Holmes.
