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Women's Volleyball:
No. 23 UC Irvine Falls to Pacific
Oct. 31, 2009 STOCKTON, Calif. --- No. 23 UC Irvine lost two straight for the first time this season as the Anteaters dropped a 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 16-25, 25-20) decision against Pacific Saturday in Stockton. UCI fell to 17-6 overall and 7-4 in the Big West while the Tigers improved to 16-7 (6-5) overall. Kristin Winkler recorded a career-high 30 digs while Alexandra Hauser also registered a personal-best with eight block assists to go along with seven kills. Kari Pestolesi and Juliane Piggott each totaled 14 kills and Taryn Robertson had 40 assists. Pacific was led by Svenja Englehardt, who had 15 kills while Mallori Gibson put in a solid all-around effort with 12 kills, three aces, 13 digs and six digs. Three UCI errors and an ace by Rebekah Torres gave the Tigers a 12-8 lead in the first set. A Tiger block on Pestolesi and a service ace by Englehardt extended the lead to six at 19-13 and Gibson delivered the winning point as Pacific took the first set. The second set was tighter and UCI worked a slim two-point lead at 16-14 after an attack error by Englehardt. However, UOP scored four straight to turn the deficit into an 18-16 edge and the Tigers maintained a two-point lead the remainder of the set. Englehardt put away the ball for set point and Gibson and Masha Vaysburg came up with a block to end the frame.
The Anteaters used a five-point run to pull away from a 9-9 tie and take a 14-9 lead in the third frame. UCI reeled off four straight for a 22-13 advantage and at 23-16 Robertson went to Larissa Nordyke on back-to-back plays for the win.
Pacific jumped out to an 11-6 lead and managed to hold off the Anteaters, who shaved the lead to two at 18-16 on an unforced error by Englehardt. A kill by Torres and an ace by Gibson widened the margin to four again but Piggott's kill and a solo block by Robertson brought UCI to within a pair at 20-18. The two sides traded points until a UCI error and a kill by Vaysburg put UOP ahead 24-19 and Englehardt recorded the match-winning point to complete the upset. |
