Volleyball Weekly Notebook
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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC VOLLEYBALL
PACIFIC AT WHITMAN
Match No. 18/Away Match No. 8
Fri., Oct. 25, 7 p.m., Sherwood Center, Walla Walla, Wash.
Live Stats & Live Video
PACIFIC AT WHITWORTH
Match No. 19/Away Match No. 9
Sat., Oct. 26, 5 p.m., Whitworth Fieldhouse, Spokane, Wash.
Live Stats |
Live Video
PACIFIC PREPS FOR FINAL LONG ROAD TRIP OF THE SEASON
After taking a pair of closes losses at George Fox and in a well-played match against No. 16 Pacific Lutheran, the Pacific volleyball team looks ahead for their final long road trip of the season. The Boxers make their way east of the Cascades to face Whitman in Walla Walla, Wash., on Friday before a Saturday afternoon matchup at Whitworth.
BOXER BYTES
• After hitting .200 to win the first set, Pacific struggled in the hitting department in the final three sets as George Fox handed the Boxers a four-set loss last Wednesday.Â
Una Areta led all players with her third double-double of the season of 20 kills and 12 digs.
• The Boxers played a solid match against No. 16 Pacific Lutheran on Friday, but the Lutes had too many offensive weapons as they went on to the three-set sweep.Â
Mariah McHolland and
Una Areta each had nine kills to lead the Boxers.
•
Una Areta continues to be a hitting force for the Boxers, finishing the week with 29 kills, a .180 hitting percentage and 19 digs. She enters the week ranked fourth in the NWC in kills per set and eighth in total kills.
• Setter
Jamie Steach continues to be one of the conference leaders in service aces. She ranks eighth in the NWC with 23 aces and an average of 0.40 aces per set.
• Libero
Becky Sheller continues to be one of the league leaders in digs. The sophomore added 35 digs in the two matches and enters the week ranked fourth in the NWC with 5.40 digs per set and is seventh with 335 total digs.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
WHITMAN
The Missionaries enter the week tied with three other teams (including Pacific) for fourth in the NWC at 4-6 and are 6-17 overall. Whitman split their matches last weekend, which snapped a five-match losing streak. On Friday, the Missionaries surged in the final two sets to score a three-set sweep over Lewis & Clark. After hitting .047 in the first set, Whitman hit .219 in the second set and .311 in the third set to cruise to the victory. Franny Gardner led the Missionaries with nine kills while Natalia Zia had eight kills while hitting an amazing .636. On Saturday in Salem, Willamette proved to be a tough challenge as the Bearcats beat the Missionaries in four sets. The Whitman hitting faltered in the final two sets as the visitors finished at .032 for the match. Jillian Davis led Whitman with 10 kills. Shae Kanakaole leads the Missionaties offensively with 175 kills while Davis averaging 3.84 kills per set. Rachel Cline is averaging 5.59 assists per set while Hannah Linsenmayer is averaging 4.78 digs per set. As a team, the Missionaries are averaging 14.08 kills, 9.67 assists, 15.70 digs and 2.07 blocks per set. They lead the NWC in blocks. Matt Helm is in his second season as Whitman head coach.
ALL TIME SERIES: Pacific leads 34-24
LAST MEETING: Whitman won in three sets (25-18, 25-20, 26-24) in Forest Grove on Sept. 27, 2013.
WHITWORTH
Whitworth enters the week in third place in the NWC at 6-4 and 12-10 overall after winning three of their last four matches. The Pirates opened the last week with a hard-fought five set victory over Willamette on Friday. Whitworth won the first two sets, then faltered at the net in the next two frames before hitting .294 in a fifth set that went 18-16. Nicole Leonard led Whitworth with 20 kills while Jalana White finished with 19 kills. The win streak ended on Saturday with the Pirates taking a five-set loss at Lewis & Clark. Whitworth rebounded from a first-set loss to win the second and third before taking close losses in the final two matches. White led the way for Whitworth with 21 kills. Leonard leads the Pirates offensively with 245 kills and an average of 2.78 kills per set. Kristine Kardell is averaging 0.74 blocks per set while Maddye Dinsmore is averaging 10.39 assists per set. As a team, Whitworth is averaging 12.51 kills, 11.60 assists, 17.88 digs and 1.55 blocks per set. Â
Kati Bodecker is in her first year as Whitworth head coach.
ALL TIME SERIES: Whitworth leads 34-18
LAST MEETING: Pacific Lutheran won in three sets (25-16, 25-15, 25-18) in Tacoma, Wash., on Sept. 20, 2013
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
FRESHMAN FIREPOWER: Ever since working her way into the starting lineup,
Una Areta (Fr., Kent, Wash.) has shown that she will be the Boxers' next great offensive presence. The freshman continues to excel, finishing last weke's matches with totals of 29 kills and 19 digs. Against George Fox, Areta posted her third double-double of the season as she led all hitters with 20 kills and 12 digs. In Friday's loss to Pacific Lutheran, Areta shared the team lead with nine kills to go along with seven kills. Areta enters the week leading the Boxers and ranking fourth in the NWC with an average of 3.19 kills per set. Offensively, Areta has also contributed 13 blocks, tying for for third on the team.
A HAND FULL OF ACES: Jamie Steach (Fr., Pasco, Wash.) has been a key contributor off the bench for the Boxers all season, especially from behind the service line. Steach enters the week as one of the leaders in the NWC in service aces, ranking seventh with an average of 0.40 per set. She was kept fairly quiet from the service area in the last week. finishing with just one ace in seven sets played in the losses to George Fox and Pacific Lutheran. Steach's season high was four aces against Willamette on Oct. 4. She also had three aces against George Fox on Sept. 18. Steach matriculated to Pacific from Chiawana High School in Pasco, Wash., where she is the school's career record holder in assists, aces and points.
DIG DUG: Libero
Becky Sheller (So., Gresham, Ore.) continues to perform well for Pacific all over the court while wearing the opposite color jersey. The Boxers' starting libero in all but one match this season, Sheller enter the week ranked fourth in the NWC with an average of 5.40 digs per set. She added 35 digs last week, finishing with 17 digs in the four-set loss to George Fox on Wednesday and a match-high 18 digs in Friday's loss to nationally-ranked Pacific Lutheran. Sheller's season high in 2013 is 30, which came in the Oct. 11 four-set match against Lewis & Clark.
LET'S GO FOUR...OR FIVE: Once again in 2013, Pacific is showing a preference towards longer matches. In seven of their 17 matches this season, Pacific has gone past the minimum three sets. On four of those occasions, the Boxers have played to a full five sets. Pacific has now gone five sets in 15 of their 37 matches played under Head Coach
Kip Yoshimura with an 9-4 record in those marathons.
PACIFIC PICKED THIRD IN NWC PRESEASON POLL: Northwest Conference coaches have picked Pacific to repeat their third place in the NWC this season in the preseason poll released in August. The Boxers received 44 of a possible 81 points in the poll, pulling in five points ahead of George Fox, chosen fourthm and eight points ahead of Willamette. Puget Sound, who advanced to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals in 2012, was picked with 70 points and seven first place votes ahead of defending champion Pacific Lutheran, who received 60 points and two first place votes. Whitworth (20 pts.), Linfield (20 pts.) and Lewis & Clark (14 pts.), round out the poll.
