Jan. 26, 2005

Box Score

STOCKTON, Calif. - The Pacific men's volleyball team improved to 7-3 overall and 3-2 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action with a three-set victory over No. 8 Cal State Northridge (3-5, 1-4 MPSF) on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at the Alex G. Spanos Center.

Set scores for the match were: 30-26, 31-29, 30-28.

Pacific had control of the match throughout both sets one and three and persevered in the face of an early five point deficit in set two.

Down 20-18 in the opening set, the Tigers used a 12-6 rally to close out the set for their easiest win of the evening. Pacific outhit the Matadors .407-to-.103 in set one. During the run senior Brian Zodrow (Kaneohe, Hawaii) put down four of his match-high 18 kills.

The Tigers were able to stave off a set point in set two, winning the final three points of the set to take the 2-0 advantage. Freshman Simon Chen-Byerley (Northfield, Ill) came up with a clutch solo block to seal the set for the Tigers. Chen-Byerley ended with four blocks on the night, a match-high.

Set three saw the Tigers jump out to a comfortable 18-13 lead quickly, holding off a late Northridge run to capture the match.

The Tigers picked up their first sweep over a ranked opponent this season behind strong play from seniors Zodrow and Bryson Metz (Aiea, Hawaii). Zodrow once again paced the Tigers with 18 kills while hitting .361 for the match. Metz posted a career night as he knocked down a career-high 13 kills while hitting .526. To go with the kills, Metz had five digs, two service aces and two blocks.

The Matadors were led by Cary Hanson with 14 kills, the lone Northridge hitter to reach double-digit kills.

Pacific is next in action with a conference match against No. 7 UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. at the Alex G. Spanos Center.