The Pacific University volleyball team won in straight sets, 25-23, 25-14, 25-10 over Whitman on Friday night at the Stoller Center.
The Boxers (8-4, 2-1 NWC) used an all-around attack that hit .301 – its third highest hitting percentage of the season – in the win. Senior
Morgan Mendicino had 12 kills and nine digs for nearly a double double to go along with a .348 hitting percentage to lead Pacific.
The Blues (5-6, 1-2 NWC) were held to a .070 hitting percentage as Kallie Dickey led Whitman with nine kills in the loss.
Pacific and Whitman were tied on six occasions in the opening set until a Blues' hitting error and a kill by
Jordan Zweifel put the Boxers back in front. Then on three occasions, the Blues nearly tied the match but Pacific prevailed with the opening set win. In the first set,
Milana Ivkovic paced a Pacific attack that hit .171 with four kills and was one of three Boxers with two block assists.
An early 7-0 run in the second set saw Pacific take a 9-2 lead en route to a .400 hitting percentage. Mendicino led the Boxers with six kills on eight attempts and
Karlee Duncan and Ivkovic each had three kills. On three occasions, Pacific built leads as large as 12 in the set.
The Boxers closed out the match in decisive fashion with a .375 hitting percentage in the third set. Pacific raced out to a 17-4 lead and never looked back. Eight-different Boxes had a kill including
Nanea Lum, who came off the bench to provide a pair to go along with six digs.
Next, Pacific will host Whitworth on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Stoller Center. On Friday, the Pirates edged George Fox in five (23-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-17, 15-13) in Newberg. The Pirates will come to town with a 9-4 overall record and 3-0 mark in the Northwest Conference.
