University of the PACIFIC

Pacific men's volleyball team took a win over Grand Canyon University on Friday, January 8 by a score of 3-0. The Tigers start their season off 2-0, while the Antelopes fell to 0-2.

The set scores for the match were: 30-15, 30-20, and 30-25.

In the first set with the score knotted at 3-3, a five point rally brought the Tigers out 8-3. A kill from freshman Nicola Vukicevic (Belgrade, Serbia) started the run and a block from freshman Patrick Tunnell (Tucson, Ariz.) and Vukicevic helped keep the Tigers rally going. Later in the set with the Tigers leading 13-6, five straight points scored by the Tigers, including two blocks by sophomores Sean Daley (Moorpark, Calif.) and Taylor Hughes (Fallbrook, Calif.) pushed the Tigers lead to 18-6. At 21-11, a service error by Grand Canyon University and a kill from Hughes brought the score to 23-11. Pacific would finish up the set on a three point rally including two straight kills by sophomore Florian Gornik (Schwechat, Austria). The Tigers would take the set 30-15.

In the second set, the Tigers let their early lead slip away as the Antelopes tied the score up at 10. But Pacific answered back with a four point rally including two service aces by Vukicevic, to jump out to 14-10. The Tigers would further increase their lead at 18-14 when the Tigers scored four straight including kills from Hughes, Vukicevic, and Gornik. At 26-18 the Tigers registered two consecutive points from attackers sophomore Ryan Spencer (Santa Maria, Calif.) and freshman Matthew Houlihan (San Jose, Calif.) to take a 28-18 lead. Another kill from Houlihan would secure the set for the Tigers by a score of 30-20.

The Tigers took a 4-1 lead early in the third set, but it quickly diminished as the Antelopes fought back to tie the game at five. The teams continued to battle and with the score tied at 10-10, Grand Canyon University scored seven straight points to take a 17-10 lead over the Tigers. The Tigers stopped their run and scored four straight including a block and kill by Daley and a service ace by Tunnell to take the score to 17-14. After a quick sideout the Tigers scored four more points to tie the game at 18-18. Gornik and Hughes each had a kill during the rally. The score tied up five more times. With the Tigers trailing 25-24, six straight points would capture the set and match for the Tigers. Hughes was responsible for two kills during the run, as Daley finished off the set with a kill as the Tigers topped the Antelopes 30-25.

Gornik led the Tigers with 13 kills and nine digs, while Hughes had 12 kills and seven digs.

Grand Canyon University was led by Brock Hutchins who had 10 kills.

Pacific will be back in action on Saturday, January 9 to take on Grand Canyon at 4:00 pm and UC Santa Cruz at 7:00 pm. The matches will take place at UC Santa Cruz.