Boxer’s Weekly Women’s Volleyball Digest

Last weekend's competition at home against nationally ranked teams may not be the toughest stretch of the season as the Boxers prepare for four more ranked opponents.

This year's Pacific Volleyball Team Photo courtesy: goboxers.com

FOREST GROVE - THE TEST ONLY GETS TOUGHER: The string of four matches against nationally ranked opponents that began the 2006 Pacific volleyball season may have been the easy part of the non-conference schedule.

The Boxers travel this week to the Washington University National Invitational in St. Louis, where Pacific will face four more nationally rank foes, including No. 2 Wittenberg and No. 5 Washington (Mo.).

#24 SOUTHWESTERN DEF. PACIFIC 30-24, 30-19, 30-28: Pacific opened the 2006 season with a solid effort against Southwestern, losing in three games to the No. 24 ranked team in the nation Friday night.

Head Coach Chris Stanley experimented with the lineup in the Boxers' first contest, trying different sets and combinations in preparation for conference play.

The Boxers worked from behind in game one, but held leads in games two and three before seeing the Pirates come back to take both frames. In game three, the Boxers led 22-20 before Marie Bruce hit six straight winners on serve to close it out. Melissa Dunn led Pacific with 12 kills and 11 digs.

Katy Lukaszewski led Southwestern with 10 kills and 10 digs. In the match, Pacific set a new three-game match record for blocks with nine, led by three blocks each from Megan Van Domelen and Joanna Delanty.

#10 ST. THOMAS DEF. PACIFIC 30-15, 30-28, 30-22: St. Thomas put on an impressive display of hitting, posting a .331 attack percentage to beat Pacific in three games Saturday.

The Tommies hit .331 in the first game, capitalizing on eight Boxer attack errors. Pacific posted early leads in games two and three, but the Tommies' hitting kept the Boxers at arm's length.

Game three was tied 6-6 when Rachelle Dosch rattled off five straight kills to put St. Thomas up 11-6, all but closing out the match. Dosch led St. Thomas with 24 kills and 10 digs. Jill Peacock led Pacific with nine kills.

PACIFIC DEF. #23 CAL STATE EAST BAY 30-25, 30-18, 28-30, 30-19: For the second straight year, Pacific played a poor host to Cal State East Bay, knocking off the No. 23 ranked Pioneers in four games Saturday.

Pacific earned the victory with strong passing and strong hitting, with the Boxers hitting .228 for the match. While game one was close, the Boxers quickly built a cushion in game two, going up 24-14 on a kill by Melissa Dunn. Pacific led by one late in game three, but a pair of kills by Shanell McMillen swung the game in favor of the Pioneers.

Pacific put things out of reach in game four, building an early 9-1 lead as they posted 15 kills in the game. Dunn led the Boxers with 11 kills and 16 digs. Meghann Adams led the Pioneers with 13 kills and 16 digs.

PACIFIC DEF. TEXAS LUTHERAN 30-21, 30-25, 30-22: The Boxers used a pair of strong hitting efforts from Jill Peacock and Megan Van Domelen to beat Texas Lutheran in three games Sunday.

Pacific capitalized on some weariness on the part of the Bulldogs, who had just finished a five-game marathon victory over Whitworth. The Boxers easily won game one, but had to battle back from an early 9-2 deficit to pick up what eventually became a 30-25 win.

Pacific maintained a healthy lead throughout game three, going up by as much as eight points. Jill Peacock led the Boxers with 13 kills as the team hit .267 for the match. Amber Meek led Texas Lutheran with 12 kills.

#24 SOUTHWESTERN DEF. PACIFIC 26-30, 30-26, 30-21, 30-27: In a rematch of Friday night's match, Pacific played well enough to take a game from the Pirates but lost in four games to Southwestern Sunday.

The Boxers took advantage of 11 attack errors by the Pirates to win game one, but Southwestern took the remaining three games with great defense, registering 87 digs and nine blocks for the match.

Pacific held brief leads in both games three and four, only to watch the Pirates come back with 18 and 21 kills, respectively. Jill Peacock led Pacific with 16 kills and 21 digs. Katy Lukaszewski paced Southwestern with 17 kills.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON (MO.): The No. 5 ranked Bears opened their 2006 season by going 4-0 in their own Washington University Classic. Washington downed Illinois Wesleyan, Wartburg, Wisconsin-Platteville and Dominican, all in three games.

The Bear had three players named to the all-tournament team, including libero Amy Bommarito, outside hitter Haleigh Spencer and middle blocker Emilie Walk. The Bears are currently hitting .398 as a team. Walk leads the attack with 46 kills and a .487 attack percentage.

SCOUTING OHIO NORTHERN: The No. 12 ranked Polar Bears opened the season by going 2-2 at their own ONU Invitational. Ohio Northern picked up victories over Ithaca and Carnegie Mellon, dropped a five game decision to No. 19 Mt. St. Joseph and lost a three-game upset to unranked Hiram.

Setter Katie Weininger was named to the All-Tournament Team after registering 176 assists in the four matches. Liz Schnelle leads the Polar Bars offensively with 51 kills and a .283 attack percentage.

SCOUTING CENTRAL (IOWA): The 17th ranked Dutch opened the season with a 3-1 record at the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Labor Day Tournament.

Central took four-game victories over Cardinal Stritch and Wisconsin-Stout and a three-game set from St. Catherine (Minn.) before taking their first loss of the season to host Eau Claire.

Setter Terri Berger and right side hitter Tessa Prati were named to the All-Tournament Team. Current statistics for the Dutch were not available.

SCOUTING WITTENBERG: Pacific's toughest test of the week will likely come against No. 2 Wittenberg. The Tigers finished second place at the ASICS/Juanita Invitational, posting victories over Gettysburg, Christopher Newport and Muskingum, all in three games.

The one loss came to host and No. 1 ranked Juanita in three games. Outside hitter Emily Bell finished with a .229 attack percentage to earn All-Tournament Team honors. Libero Laura Fender was also named to the squad after leading the Tigers in digs. Jackie Williams leads the Wittenberg offense with 41 kills and a .356 percentage.

BOXER KICKOFF TOURNAMENT: St. Thomas and Southwestern each won four games share top honors at the second Boxer Kickoff Invitational Tournament. The No. 10 ranked Tommies lost only one game in four matches, beating Pacific, Texas Lutheran, Lewis & Clark and Whitworth.

The Pirates, meanwhile, finished their Oregon trip with a 5-0 record. In the tournament, Southwestern beat Lewis & Clark, Whitworth, Cal State East Bay and Pacific.

TOPS OF THE NORTHWEST CONFERENCE TEAMS: Of the three Northwest Conference teams in the Boxer Kickoff, it was Pacific who shined brightest.

The Boxers finished the tourney with a 2-2 record, recording their upset of No. 23 Cal State East Bay and a victory over Texas Lutheran. No. 20 Whitworth went 0-4 in the tournament.

The Pirates are still finding their way after losing all seven starters from last year's NWC championship team. Lewis & Clark, picked to finish seventh in the NWC, also went 0-4.

SPREADING HER FEATHERS: In the first five matches for the Boxers, Jill Peacock showed that she is on top of her game. The junior started four of the Boxers' five matches, and led the team with 64 kills and a .288 attack percentage.

She was also responsible for 44 digs, fourth most in the first five games for the Boxers. Peacock led Pacific in hitting in two matches, topped by a 20-kill effort against Cal State East Bay.

STEADY ANELA: As the Boxers' setter went, so did Pacific's chances for success. Anela Iseke showed during the Boxer Kickoff Tournament why she is the most consistent player for Pacific with her outstanding defensive play and passing. The team's lone setter finished with 183 assists, five aces and 41 digs to go long with six block assists.

LOOKING FOR THAT RIGHT COMINBATION: Head Coach Chris Stanley took advantage of the first five matches to look for the right combination s to use on the court.

A total of 13 of the Boxers' 15 players saw action during the Boxer Kickoff Tournament, with only freshmen Liz Hart (Fr., Kula, Hawaii) and Jenna Archibald (Fr., Gearhart, Ore.) failing to crack the lineup. In addition, eight different players made starts in the first five matches.

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