Boxers Win With A New York State Of Mind
Pacific/Oneonta State Box Score
Pacific/Mt. St. Mary's Box Score
ONEONTA, N.Y. - Pacific rode the exceptional play of veterans
Alexa Block (Jr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and
Kelsy Takashima (Sr., Kaunakakai, Hawaii) to a pair of season-opening victories Friday as the Boxers swept past Oneonta State and Mt. St. Mary's (N.Y.) in the opening day of the Oneonta Invitational.
After struggling much of the 2010 season to gain the upper hand in close sets, the Boxers (2-0) knocked off the host Red Dragons (1-1) in four close sets, 24-26, 25-21, 26-24, 25-22. Pacific followed that up with an easy win over the Blue Jays (0-2) of Newburgh, N.Y., by scores of 25-13, 25-9, 25-14.
Block put together one of the strongest back-to-back performances of her career. For the two matches, she smashed 27 kills and dug 12 balls and amassed a .304 hitting percentage. Takashima was similarly impressive, amassing 19 kills and 11 blocks in the two matches with a hitting percentage of .500.
Additionally, Takashima tied a Pacific record with nine service aces in the match against Mt. Mt. Mary's. That equaled the mark set by Chrissi Beck against Multnomah back in the 2003 season. That helped the Boxers set a team record for a four-set match with 20, eclipsing the 18 that the Boxers had against Lewis & Clark in 2003.
PACIFIC DEF. ONEONTA STATE 3-1: After dropping the opening set to the host Red Dragons, Pacific proved resilient in taking the next three sets. All finished within four points of each other, with the Boxers needing to go extra points to pull out the third frame.
Pacific was buoyed by a strong team effort at the net. The Boxers hit .238 as a team and finished with six blocks.
Block came through with a solid all-around match, registering a double-double of 19 kills and 10 digs while hitting .233 for the match. She added five services aces. Takashima finished with 16 kills and a .519 hitting percentage.
Jade Thompson (Jr., Marysville, Wash.) had 23 digs. The newcomer setting corps of
Malea Webb (Fr., Spokane, Wash.) and
Gabriela Vega (Fr., Olympia, Wash.) came through strong with 30 and 24 assists, respectively.
Oneonta State hit .156 for the match, but were hampered by 11 service errors and nine blocking errors. Kacy Boburka led the Red Dragons offensively with 12 kills and 12 digs. Brittney Calvello had a double-double of 29 assists and 12 digs.
PACIFIC DEF. MT. ST. MARY'S (N.Y.) 3-0: After their victory over Oneonta, Pacific had little dispatching Mt. St. Mary's in three sets to conclude the opening day of action.
The Boxers were strong at the net once again, amassing a .328 hitting percentage while collecting 8.5 blocks. The offense was evenly distributed with seven different players registering kills.
Block led the way once again for the Boxers with eight kills.
Keahi Braginsky-Ahloo (So., Wahiawa, Hawaii) finished with six kills. Takashima came through with her impressive total of nine service aces, while
Brittney Johnson (Sr., Beaverton, Ore.) came awa with six. Thompson had 18 digs while Webb finished with 18 assists.
The Boxers return to the Oneonta Invitation for two more matches on Saturday, facing Millikin and St. Joseph's (N.Y.).
