Aug. 27, 2005
MILWAUKEE, Wisc. - The Pacific Tigers finished off the Marquette Kick-Off Classic with an impressive 3-1 win over the host, Marquette, on Saturday, Aug. 27. Game scores for the match were 27-30, 31-29, 30-23, 30-22. The Tigers' win moved Pacific to 2-1 on the season, while Marquette dropped to 2-1.
Despite out hitting Marquette, .389 to .355, Pacific dropped the first game of the match 30-27. The Tigers, however, bounced back in game two as Pacific jumped out to a 10-5 advantage in the early going as senior Ashley Groothuis (Aurora, Neb.) had two of her match-high 25 kills and freshman Nikki Jagd (Palos Verdes, Calif.) delivered a service ace to stake the Tigers to the lead.
The Golden Eagles battled back and led 27-25 late in game two, but the Tigers showed their resolve, scoring four straight points to take a 29-27 lead. The Tigers made the run on a Marquette service error, by forcing an attacking error by the Golden Eagles, Jagd's second ace of the game gave Pacific a 28-27 lead, then sophomore Kara Uhl (Cypress, Calif.) pounded a kill down the left side to make it 29-27. Once again Marquette came back to tie the game at 29-29, but the Tigers answered with back-to-back points on a kill from Groothuis and a forced error by Marquette to even the match at one game with a 31-29 win..
Following the intermission, the Tigers dominated game three defensively as Pacific held Marquette to just a .116 hitting percentage, forcing 11 errors and allowing 16 kills. Offensively, the Tigers posted a .293 percentage by matching Marquette's 16 kills, but committed only four errors. Groothuis, Uhl and senior Sidney Bennett (Louisville, Ky.) combined for 13 of the Tigers' 16 kills. Pacific took the game 30-23.
Pacific turned the defensive pressure up another notch in the fourth and decisive game as the Tigers held Marquette to just a .047 hitting percentage. With the defense placing a tremendous amount of pressure on the Golden Eagles, Groothuis took the match over with 12 kills in the final game to cement a Pacific win, 30-22.
Freshman Rebecca Mason (Los Gatos, Calif.) and junior Allison Ianni (East Lansing, Mich.) also had impressive showings against the Golden Eagles. Mason finished with seven digs, including two on crucial points in game three. Ianni posted 56 assists in the match and seemed to find the right Tiger hitter on every point down the stretch.
In addition to the 25 kills from Groothuis, Bennett finished with 15 kills for Pacific, while Theresa Coughlin led Marquette with 15 kills.
Following the match, Bennett and Groothuis were named to the All-Tournament Team. Pacific, Marquette and Virginia Commonwealth each finished the Marquette Kick-Off Classic with identical 2-1 records, while North Dakota State was 0-3.
In earlier action on Saturday, the Tigers defeated North Dakota State 3-0. Game scores for the match were 30-23, 30-21, 30-18.
"Today's matches were a great team effort. Everyone contributed in significant ways," said Pacific head coach Jayne McHugh.
The Tigers will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 2 as Pacific hosts the Nike Invitational on Sept. 2 and 3. The first game of the tournament will feature Purdue against Saint Louis at 5 p.m. on Sept. 2, while Pacific will open the Nike Invitational with Bradley at 7 p.m.