The Pacific volleyball team opened up its home portion of the schedule with a 25-12, 25-22, 25-20 win over New Hope Christian College on Thursday night in Forest Grove, Ore.
 
The Boxers (4-4) were led by junior Tiare Kaopua (Nanakuli, Hawaii), who had 18 kills – just two shy of her season-high – in the win to lead a Pacific squad that hit .239 in the win. Sophomore Morgan Mendicino (San Diego, Calif.), freshman Milana Ivkovic (Beaverton, Ore.) and freshman Karlee Duncan (Bend, Ore.) contributed to the attack with eight, seven and six kills, respectively.

Pacific utilized a pair of setters in the win as senior Jamie Steach (Pasco, Wash.) saw a bulk of the action with 29 assists in two sets and Ellie Parker (Beaverton, Ore.) had 11 assists in the deciding set. Senior libero Lia Zablan (Ewa Beach, Hawaii) added 15 digs and three service aces.
 
New Hope (2-5) was led by an eight-kill effort by Bailey Howard to lead the Deacons. Plus, setter Kenzie Nortune had a double double with 11 assists and 10 digs.
 
Kaopua and Duncan led the Boxers in the opening set with five and four kills, respectively. Pacific out hit the Deacons by a .407 to a -.037 margin en route to the 25-12 set victory. In the second set, Kaopua had one of her best sets of the season with a nine-kill effort as the Boxers rallied from an early 10-3 deficit to take a two-set lead into the intermission. A Mendicino kill in the third set put the Boxers ahead 3-2 and for the remainder of the set to secure the victory. Pacific built a lead as large as eight on a pair of occasions to secure the set and the match victory.
 
The Boxers will take a brief break before hosting the Pacific University Classic on Sunday, Sept. 11. The schedule for the classic includes a neutral site match at 10 a.m. with Simpson vs. Walla Walla University, followed by the Red Hawks taking on the Boxers at 12:30 p.m. The classic will wrap up with Pacific taking on the Wolves in the finale at 3 p.m.

---

Photos