FOREST GROVE, Ore.- The Pacific University Volleyball team fell in a five-set thriller Saturday night in the Stoller Center (21-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-23,10-15).
The Boxers (5-10, 3-6 NWC) came out hot in set one as they jumped to an early 11-6 lead thanks to four big-time kills by the Boxer middle blockers. The Pirates were able to claw their way back to tie the match at 16, and force Pacific into a timeout. Behind the serving of Haley Walz (Senior/ Tucson, AZ) were able to string together a few points to put the Boxers ahead 21-18. The Pirates were then able to serve seven consecutive points to steal the first set 25-21.
The Pirate offense was errorless in the second set while they sent home 18 kills. This proved to be a roadblock to success for the Boxers. The Boxer offense did quite well in the second set tallying 14 kills of their own, but they were unable to slow down the Pirate middle blockers. The Boxers found themselves up 19-17 towards the end of the set, but were unable to close it out as they dropped the set 21-25.
Despite being down 0-2, the Boxers came out ready to play in the second set. Behind the serving of setter Shaianne Cambra (Sophomore/ Kapolei, HI) the Boxers were able to jump to an early 11-8 lead. Following Cambra's five-point serving run,
Danica Nelson (Freshman/ Folsom, CA) chipped in 2 consecutive aces and the Boxers found themselves up 15-10. Unti added in an ace herself to help the Boxers to a 17-11. The Boxer offense proved to be the difference maker in the set as they hit a cool .232 with 15 kills.
The Boxer defense really stepped up in set four as they only allowed the Pirates to collect 12 kills in the sets, and held them to their match low hitting percentage. The Boxers on the other hand sent home 16 kills in the set. Besides the first point of the set, the Boxers never found themselves behind. The set was all tied up at 21 which forced Pacific into a timeout. Allie Hertager (Junior/ Medford, OR) came in clutch with a kill from the back row following the time out. Brown then pounded down 2 quick kills to help the Boxers to a 24-23 lead. Unti ended the set with one of her famous tip kills. Murphy tallied an impressive six kills, as the Boxers narrowly took the set 25-23.
The Boxers came out with some confidence in the decisive fifth set as they took home the first two points off a massive kill from Murphy and a Unti service ace. The Pirates then gained some momentum off of a few Boxer attack errors, as they led 4-2. The Boxers then answered with two well executed plays by Carissa Ramirez (Senior/ Hillsboro, OR) and Murphy. The Pirates forced the Boxers into a few errors which helped them to a 7-4 lead. But the Boxers didn't give up as they found a bit of momentum off of a block from Cambra and Ramirez to make it 6-7. The Pirates then found their way to an 11-7 lead which forced the Boxers into a timeout. The Boxers responded with yet another kill from Brown, and 2 big time blocks from Unti. Unfortunately the Boxers couldn't stop the Pirate offense from scoring as they ended the set with three straight kills. Ultimately the Boxers struggled to find a way to score in the final set as they were held to .038 hitting percentage.
For the second night in a row the Pacific outside hitters were on fire as Mara Murphy (Freshman/ Salt Lake City, UT) and Alison Brown (Sophomore/ Oregon City, OR) collected 20 and 17 kills. Senior middle Elika Unti (Castro Valley, CA) also put up an impressive 12 kills on a .355 hitting percentage.
Walz led the Boxers with 24 digs while Nelson and Murphy added in 15 and 10 of their own. The Boxers out blocked the Pirates 8-4. Unti led all blockers with one block solo and five block assists. Elmore also chipped in four block assists on the outing.
Up Next
Pacific will look to bounce back as they travel north to Puget Sound next Friday night to take on the Loggers at 7 p.m.
For the latest information on Pacific Athletics, make sure to check out GoBoxers.com. You can also find the Boxers on social media at @GoBoxers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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