Sept. 24, 2005
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The Pacific Tigers women's volleyball earned a 3-1 win over UC Riverside on Saturday, Sept. 24. Game scores for the match were 26-30, 30-27, 31-29, 37-35. The win moved Pacific to 6-7 this season and evened the Tigers Big West Conference record at 1-1. UC Riverside fell to 11-2 overall and 1-1 in conference.
UC Riverside took the first game of the match as the Highlanders hit an amazing .450 to take game one. Despite the Highlanders high average, the Tigers kept the game close falling 30-26.
The Tigers even the match in game two as Pacific forced UC Riverside into eight errors and lowered the Highlanders average to .146. The turning point in game two and in the match game came with the Tigers trailing 25-24. Senior Sidney Bennett (Louisville, Ky.) thrust Pacific into the lead with back-to-back kills. Following a UC Riverside timeout, Pacific sophomore Kara Uhl (Cypress, Calif.) pushed the lead to 27-25 with a service ace. A UC Riverside ball handling error made it 28-25 and the Tigers went on to take game two, 30-27.
Following the intermission, the Tigers maintained their momentum in the early points of game three as Pacific jumped out to a 4-1 lead. The Highlanders, however, battled back and the Highlanders took a 10-9 lead. The UC Riverside lead grew to as many as five points at 24-19. The Tigers responded by scoring six of the next seven points. This time the Pacific push was fueled by the serving of senior Ashley Groothuis (Aurora, Neb.). Groothuis had two aces to surround a kill from Uhl and senior Susan Drollinger (Lake Arrowhead, Calif.) as Pacific took a 25-24 lead. The two teams battled back and forth to a 29-29 tie, when Groothuis claimed the game for Pacific with back-to-back kills.
Game four saw the two teams battle back and forth, forcing 19 ties and 10 lead changes. The Tigers, however, found themselves down 23-19. The Tigers scored the next seven points to take a 26-23 lead. Uhl had three kills to lead the charge, while Bennett and Drollinger chipped in one kill each. UC Riverside refused to go quietly as the Highlanders tied the at 29-29, forcing extra play. Both teams had opportunities to take the fourth as decisive game, but with UC Riverside leading 35-34 the Tigers took the final three points to take the match. Pacific tied the game at 35-35 on a UC Riverside service error. A Groothuis kill gave Pacific a 36-35 lead, then the Tigers won the match by forcing an error from UC Riverside's Ashley Halperin. The Tigers posted their highest hitting average of the match in game four as Pacific hit .394 with 30 kills and just four errors on 66 swings.
Four Tigers finished with double digit kills, led by 22 from Groothuis. Uhl following with 18 kills and a team-high 26 digs for her second career double-double. The Highlanders were led by a match-high 26 kills from Jamie DeKiewiet.
Pacific will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 1 as the Tigers host Cal State Northridge at 7 p.m. in the Alex G. Spanos Center.