Milestone Night For McHolland, Boxers In Win Over Pirates
Box Score
FOREST GROVE – It was a record night for
Mariah McHolland (Jr., Renton, Wash.), a near record night for
Alexa Block (Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) on the outside and Pacific reached a milestone win plateau Friday night as the Boxers went five sets to beat Whitworth, 22-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-10, in Northwest Conference volleyball action at the Stoller Center.
The Boxers had to come back from two sets down to improve to 11-12, 10-5 NWC. The 10 conference wins ties the 1981 squad for the most in a season. The win, combined with a loss by Whitman to Linfield, guarantees the Boxers a third place finish in the NWC standings.
McHolland helped secure the win with a record effort, notching her second double-double of the season with 10 kills and 12 blocks. The 12 blocks surpassed the record of 11 blocks set by Joanna Delanty in 2006, equaled by
Kelsy Takashima in 2009 and equaled again by McHolland earlier this season. In addition, her 11 block assists surpassed the record of nine set by Takashima in 2008 and equaled by McHolland earlier this season.
Block, meanwhile, posted her best hitting performance of the season. Her 27 kills equaled the Pacific season and was one shy of Pacific's single match. Block also had a match-high .290 hitting percentage and four blocks.
Marie Rewick (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii) notched her 10th double-double of the season with 18 kills and 25 digs while
Emily Farnham (Fr., University Place, Wash.) had her fifth double-double of 37 assists and 10 digs.
Jalana White led the Pirates (9-13, 5-10 NWC) with 18 kills. Nicole Leonard posted a double-double of 12 kills and 24 digs. Abi Hedlund had a double-double of 12 kills and 15 digs while Maddye Dinsmore added a double-double of 45 assists and 18 digs.
Pacific charged out of the gate scoring the first five points of the match, buoyed by a pair of kills by McHolland. The Boxers still claimed a 9-5 lead on a block by
Tiana Greenhalgh (Fr., Yucaipa, Calif.) and McHolland, but the Pirates came back to tie the set at 10-10 on a Pacific attack error. Whitworth kept it close and eventually took a 17-16 lead on a block by Dinsmore and Briauna Stadeli. The score was knotted at 22 when the Pirates scored the final three points, two off of White kills, for the 25-22 win.
Both teams fought hard through a closely contested second set. Whitworth started breaking away when a pair of Pacific attack errors bolstered a four-point that turned a 9-9 tie into a 14-10 lead. Pacific closed back to within 16-14 on a block by McHolland and Block, but the Pirates converted another pair of Boxer attack errors into a four-point that made it a 19-14 lead.
Pacific slowly climbed back in, tying the frame at 22-22 on McHolland's kill. The set was tied 23-23 when two Pacific attack errors closed it out in favor of the Pirates at 25-23.
The Boxers came out of the long break on fire, going up 8-4 on a Whitworth service error. The Pirates sailed back in, though, tying the frame at 15-15 on Stadeli's kill. That started a run of four unanswered points that put Whitworth ahead 18-15. Pacific responded with a five-point run of their own, paced by two Rewick kills, that put the Boxers up 20-18. The Pirates were within two points late, but McHolland's second kill of the set gave Pacific their first win of the night at 25-21.
Outside of a 1-0 deficit off of the first serve, the Boxers never trailed in the fourth set. Pacific opened up the 11-6 lead on a Whitworth attack error, then extended the advantage to 17-10 on a kill by Block. The Pirates closed to within three points late on a Dinsmore service ace, but the Boxers held on for the 25-21 win to force the deciding set.
The Boxers did not put Whitworth in the fifth set until late. An early 5-2 lead quickly evaporated as the Pirates tied things at 8-8 on White's service ace. Rewick scored a kill on the next rally, one of four straight kills that paced a four-point run for the Boxers that made it 12-8. The teams traded serves over the next five rallies, with Greenhalgh posting the final kill.
Pacific will close out their 2012 season at home Saturday, hosting Whitman at 6 p.m. Whitworth closes the season at Linfield on Saturday.
