Volleyball Weekly Notebook
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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC VOLLEYBALL
PACIFIC AT LEWIS & CLARK
Match No. 19/Away Match No. 6
Fri., Oct. 19, 7 p.m., Pamplin Sports Center, Portland, Ore.
Live Video:
client.stretchinternet.com/client/lclark.portal#
PACIFIC AT PUGET SOUND
Match No. 20/Away Match No. 7
Sat., Oct. 20, 7 p.m., Memorial Fieldhouse, Tacoma, Wash.
Live Stats:
bit.ly/SWoqaM
Live Video:
client.stretchinternet.com/client/ups.portal#
BOXERS BEGIN LONG ROAD TRIP WITH 2ND PLACE IN BALANCE
After splitting their weekend matches and dropping just their third match of the Northwest Conference season, the Pacific volleyball team is looking ahead to a four-match road trip before closing the 2012 campaign at home. The Boxers travel to Portland to play at Lewis & Clark on Friday before heading north on Saturday to face nationally ranked Puget Sound.
BOXER BYTES
• Pacific won their fourth straight and their fourth road match of the season on Friday as they best George Fox in four sets, 25-22, 15-25, 25-22, 25-15. Pacific hit .134 for the match, led by a 13-kill effort by
Alexa Block.
• Willamette came into the Stoller Center and stunned the Boxers in three sets, 25-15, 25-17, 25-14. The Boxers had one of their worst hitting performances of the season, committing 32 attack errors and amassing a -.034 hitting percentage.
Marie Rewick led the Boxers with nine kills.
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Marie Rewick posted the best all-around performance of the week, finishing with 20 kills (2.86 kills per set average) and 21 digs (3.00 digs per set average). She led the Boxers with nine kills in Saturday's loss to Willamette and had a double-double of 11 kills and 15 digs in the win over George Fox.
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Alexa Block led the Boxers with 13 kills and a .294 hitting percentage in the team's four-set victory over George Fox. She finished the week with 20 kills (2.86 kills per set average), a .250 hitting percentage and four digs.
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Mariah McHolland added four blocks to her total of 67 blocks (11 solo, 56 assist). She enters the week ranked sixth in the NWC with her average of 0.94 blocks per set and fifth with her .329 hitting percentage.
• Of Pacific's eight wins this season, six have come in five set matches. The Boxers have played seven five-set matches to date, matching their total from the 2011 season. Last weekend was just the third of the season that did not include a five-set match.
• Pacific's 7-3 start to their best Northwest Conference start in the program's modern history (since 1986). The Boxers need just one more victory in their final six matches to guarantee their first winning conference record since 2007.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
LEWIS & CLARK
The Pioneers enter the week in ninth place in the NWC at 2-8 and are 6-13 overall. Lewis & Clark has lost four straight matches, including three at home. On Wednesday, the Pioneers dropped a four-set match to George Fox. L&C came back from a one-set deficit to tie it up, but lost convincingly in the final two sets that they failed to hit over .010 in the final two frames. Kateleya Milan led the Pioneers with 13 kills while Jennifer Dowby contributed 10. On Saturday, the Pioneers took a four-set loss to Linfield. As they did on Wednesday, L&C rebounded to win the second set before dropping the final two. The Pioneers hit .074 for the match, led by 11 kills by Dowdy. Dowdy leads the L&C offense with 213 kills while Milan is averaging 3.44 kills per set. Leia Matsunaga averages 7.08 assists per set and Elena Hoff is averaging 4.27 digs per set. As a team, L&C is averaging 10.01 kills, 9.05 assists, 17.25 digs and 1.66 blocks per set. Lori Jepsen is in her 10th year as Lewis & Clark head coach.
ALL TIME SERIES: Lewis & Clark leads 32-25
LAST MEETING: Pacific won in three sets (25-15, 25-22, 25-19) in Forest Grove on Sept. 21, 2012.
PUGET SOUND
The Loggers enter the week tied for second in the NWC with Pacific at 7-3 and are 13-5 overall. Puget Sound were ranked No. 13 in last week's AVCA Division III Coaches Top-25 Poll. The Loggers split their matches over the weekend on the eastern Washington road trip. On Friday, Puget Sound picked up a four-set victory over Whitman in Walla Walla. Puget Sound rebounded from a second-set loss to win the third and fourth, led by 13 kills by Jackie Harvey. Nicolette Reynaud had 12 kills and Marissa Florant added 10. On Saturday, the Loggers were stunned in five sets by Whitworth in Spokane. Whitworth won the first two sets, but Puget Sound rebounded to take the third and fourth before the Pirates won a convincing fifth set. The Loggers hit -.040 in the fifth and .112 for the match. Harvey led Puget Sound with 17 kills while Reynaud finished with 16. Harvey leads the Loggers with 253 kills and an average of 3.78 kills per set. Jenni Brehove is averaging 10.52 assists per set and Christina Chun is averaging 5.19 digs per set. As a team, Puget Sound is averaging 12.85 kills, 11.96 assists, 20.90 digs and 1.86 blocks per set. Mark Massey is in his 16th season as Puget Sound head coach.
ALL TIME SERIES: Puget Sound leads 32-5
LAST MEETING: Puget Sound won in three sets ((25-13, 25-14, 29-27) in Forest Grove on Sept. 22, 2012.
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
DOUBLE-DOUBLE PERFORMER: While her hitting was off on Saturday, as it was for the entire Pacific roster,
Marie Rewick (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii) continues to excel as the Boxers top outside hittier. Rewick was one of two Pacific players to finish with 20 kills in their two matches last week. She posted her seventh double-double of the season on Friday at George Fox, registering 11 kills and 15 digs. In Saturday's loss to Willamette, Rewick led the Boxers with nine kills. Rewick continues to be the Boxers' leader in the hitting department. She leads the team with 221 kills and she is ranked sixth in the NWC with her average of 3.11 per set. Rewick also ranks second on the team with her 163 digs and average of 2.30 digs per set.
BLOCK POWER: As Pacific entered the second half of the NWC season,
Alexa Block (Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) put together one of her most accurarte hitting weeks of the season. Block finished the week with 20 kills, a .250 hitting percentage and four digs in the two matches. She led the Boxers with 13 kills and a .294 hitting percentage in the Boxers' four-set victory over George Fox on Friday. She was one of only two starters to finish in positive hitting territory against Willamette on Saturday with seven kills and a .167 hitting percentage. Block enters the week ranked 10th in the NWC and second for the Boxers with 198 kills and an average of 2.83 kills per set. Block also ranks second for the Boxers with her 27 blocks (2 solo, 25 assists).
DIGGING BECKY'S WORK: Becky Sheller (Fr., Gresham, Ore.) has continued to excel for the Boxers as the team's starting libero, stepping in for the injured
Jade Thompson (Sr., Marysville, Wash.) and then winning the role upon her return. Sheller enters the week ranked fifth in the NWC in digs, averaging 4.87 digs per set. Sheller added 30 digs in the two weekend matches, leading the Boxers in both contests. She had her weekend high of 19 digs in Saturday's four-set victory over George Fox.
DIG PINK NIGHT IS A SUCCESS: Pacific's participation in the national Dig Pink Night promotion was a solid success. The Boxers raised over $1,500 for breast cancer research in the promotion, which was sponsored by the Side Out Foundation. A number of breast cancer survivors were invited to attend the game and the Boxers wore pink jerseys in recognition of the evening.
A RARE EASTERN WASHINGTON SWEEP: It is not easy for any Pacific team to win both legs of the eastern Washington road trip, regardless of the sport. The Boxers' sweep of Whitman and Whitworth on Oct. 5 and 6 marks the first time that they have accomplished the feat since 2006. It is only the third time that Pacific has accomplished the feat since 1994, when the conference moved to the double round-robin style of scheduling.
UNPRECEDENTED START: After opening the season losing their first seven matches, the Boxers have opened the 2012 Northwest Conference season with one of the best league starts in program history. The Boxers' 7-3 start to the conference season is a first in the modern history of the program. In addition, Pacific needs just two more wins over their final eight matches to secure the team's first winning conference season since 2007.
HIGH FIVE: If Pacific is going to win, it is more than likely going to come in five sets. Of the Boxers' seven victories this season, six have come in five sets. Pacific to date had just two victories that did not go five sets. The Boxers beat Lewis & Clark in three sets on Sept. 21, and the Boxers were four-set winners over George Fox on Oct. 12. Conversely, all three of Pacific's losses during the Northwest Conference season have been in three sets.
PROGRESS TOWARDS RANKS: Pacific's five-set win over No. 17 Colorado College marked the Boxers' first victory over an opponent ranked in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top-25 Poll this season. Pacific is 1-4 this season against ranked teams, but three of those matches have gone more than the minimum three sets. Pacific opened with a four-set loss to No. 23 Occidental on Sept. 1, a five-set loss to No. 6 Cal Lutheran on Sept. 8 and a three-set loss to No. 10 Puget Sound on Sept. 22. No. 18 Pacific Lutheran took a three-set win from Pacific on Sept. 28.
PACIFIC PICKED SEVENTH IN NWC PRESEASON POLL: Northwest Conference coaches have picked Pacific seventh in the NWC this season in the preseason poll released in August. The Boxers received 24 of a possible 80 points on the poll to finish three points ahead of Willamette and six points behind George Fox. Pacific Lutheran is selected to ovetake 2011 NWC champion Whitworth for the conference crown, receiving five first place votes and a total of 65 points. The Pirates earned two first place votes and 54 points while Puget Sound is picked third with 50 points and one first place vote. Lewis & Clark was picked fourth with 44 points while Linfield is fifth with 35 points.
