Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - In a thrilling match of second-place teams, the University of Pacific volleyball team (23-7, 12-5 WCC) blocked LMU volleyball's (23-6, 11-6 WCC) bid for a seventh straight victory on Saturday in Gersten Pavilion, registering 18 total team blocks en route to defeating the Lions by scores of 25-17, 18-25, 25-16, 19-25, 15-9.

Gillian Howard had a monster match for the Tigers, collecting 18 kills on 30 swings (.533) to go along with nine blocks (two solos and seven assists). Alicja Wilk had eight block assists to help guide UOP to the stellar blocking effort.

Rachelle Suaava had a strong match in the loss for LMU, teaming 10 kills (.368) with nine digs and six blocks. Caitlin DeWitt had 14 kills, while Hannah Tedrow had four kills on five swings to accompany 44 assists and seven digs.

Pacific came out strong in the opener, posting six team blocks en route to taking the first by a count of 25-17. Howard, who had six kills on eight swings, led the way on the block as well for UOP, registering two block solos and two block assists. It was all Tigers to start the match, as UOP forced LMU into calling both of its timeouts as it took a 10-3 lead. A Howard block solo made it 11-3 out of the break and LMU was unable to recover down the stretch, only managing to cut the deficit to six at its lowest point the rest of the way. The Tigers eventually took the first set on a kill from Kat Schulz.

The Lions drew back even in the second set behind five kills on 11 swings from DeWitt. Amber Mirabello, who did not record a kill in the first, provided four in the second, as LMU, which hit .077 in the first set, hit .343 to take the set by a score of 25-18. Pacific managed two more blocks in the second, but LMU matched that output on its defensive side. The two teams played even to eight points early, but LMU won four straight from there, including two on kills from Suaava and Sarah Sponcil, to take a lead it would not relinquish. Kills from Mirabello and Keil pushed LMU to 20 points at 20-14 and forced UOP to call its second timeout of the second set, but it was a block from Tedrow on a scrambling broken play to hand LMU the 23-15 lead that highlighted the run to victory for LMU.

Pacific led the entire way in the third set, and once again the push came from the block. The Tigers registered four more blocks, including two more block assists from Howard, en route to claiming the crucial swing set by a score of 25-16. Just as she did in the first, Howard also posted six kills on eight errorless attacks to guide Pacific to a .367 hitting percentage. An early four-point run from 2-2 to 6-2 gave the Tigers the lead they would need, as LMU called timeouts at 13-8 and 15-9 in an attempt to regroup and slow momentum. The breaks did little to limit the pace as Pacific maintained at least a five-point cushion the rest of the way, winning the stanza on a Lion attack error that dropped the LMU hitting percentage to .025 at the conclusion of the set.

With its back against the wall, LMU came out fighting in the fourth, earning the set by a score of 25-19 to force a fifth and decisive set. The Lions hit .278 in the fourth, led by four kills from Keil and three apiece from Suaava and DeWitt. Just as it did in the second set victory, LMU matched Pacific's block total with three and limited the effectiveness of Howard as she finished with only two kills on six attacks. An early three-point swing saw LMU force a Pacific timeout at 7-4 before the Lions extended the lead to six at 12-6 to burn the second visitor timeout. LMU stayed in control the rest of the way, reaching the 20-point plateau on a block from Tedrow and eventually taking the fourth on a perfect block of Lexi Edelman from Mirabello and Suaava.

The LMU attack struggled in the finale, registering just a -.130 hitting percentage as Pacific collected three more blocks and took the match by way of a 15-9 victory. The race to 15 did not start well for LMU as Pacific jumped out to an early 4-1 lead and forced a Lion timeout at 8-4 and then again at 11-6. The visitors fittingly put the match away with a block, as Katy Tagart and Wilk teamed for the match-winner.

LMU will finish the 2014 regular season on Tuesday when it hosts BYU at 7 p.m. That match will be LMU's Senior Night honoring DeWitt, Keil and Ashley Maxfeldt. The match will also be streamed live on TheW.tv.