Jan. 10, 2008

Stockton, Calif. - The Pacific women's volleyball wrapped up a bounce back 2007 season with an overall record of 18-9 and a Big West Conference mark of 9-7.

2007 Season At a Glance

Second year head coach Charlie Wade guided the Tigers back to the top half of the Big West in 2007 as Pacific earned several prominent victories and just missed a return to the NCAA Tournament.

Wade and the Tigers got off to a quick start during the 2007 season as Pacific traveled to Reno, Nevada and upset the Wolf Pack, 3-0. Following back-to-back losses at the Colorado State Tournament, the Tigers rebounded with six straight victories.

Pacific's impressive run began at the University of Portland / Nike Invitational from Sept. 7-8. The Tigers started the tournament with a sweep of UTEP, but it was the final two matches that showed the strength of this squad. After surrendering an 11-point lead in the first game against Portland State, Pacific refused to quit and battled back for a 3-2 victory over the Vikings, setting up a championship match against tournament host, Portland.

The championship match with the Pilots saw senior Johanna Hilbers (Omaha, Neb.) and junior Alexa Anderson (Los Gatos, Calif.) rally the Tigers from a 1-0 deficit to claim Pacific's first tournament championship since 2004 with a 3-1 win. Anderson delivered her 16 kills and 14 digs in the championship match, her second double-double of the tournament. Following the Tigers' victory, Hilbers was named the tournament MVP. Johanna finished the three-match tournament with 36 kills and 17 blocks. Anderson joined Hilbers on the all-tournament team.

Pacific returned to Stockton and opened their home schedule with the Asics Tournament. Riding the positive momentum from Portland and the energy of playing in front of their home fans, the Tigers posted one of their most impressive performances of the season with a 3-1 win over Loyola Marymount on Sept. 13. This time is was the tandem of Hilbers and junior Kara Uhl (Cypress, Calif.) that fueled the Tigers, combining for 29 kills and just two errors on 61 attempts. Two nights later the Tigers bested former Pacific head coach Taras Liskevych and the Oregon State Beavers, 3-2, to nab their second tournament championship in as many weeks. Once again Hilbers earned the MVP with 31 kills and only five errors in the two matches. Joining Johanna on the all-tournament team was senior Julie Magud (Stockton, Calif.) and sophomore Megan MimMack.

The Tigers split their first two Big West Conference matches on the road, then Pacific returned home for another two impactful contests. The Tigers closed out the month of September with a 3-0 sweep over UC Santa Barbara, followed by a 3-1 upset win over No. 20 Cal Poly to move to 9-3 overall and 3-1 in the Big West Conference. The Tigers win over UC Santa Barbara was Pacific's first win over the Gauchos in Stockton since 2001 and just the Tigers' second victory over UCSB in the last six seasons. The following night, Pacific's win over Cal Poly marked the Tigers' first victory over a ranked opponent since on Oct. 1, 2004 when Pacific defeated No. 8 UC Santa Barbara, 3-1, in Santa Barbara, Calif.

The Tigers' second Big West road trip resulted in another split as Pacific fell to UC Irvine, 3-0, then defeated UC Riverside, 3-0.

Back in the Spanos Center on Oct. 12, Magud became the Tigers' all-time digs leader with her 1,662 dig to pass former Pacific great, Jaime Hamm. Pacific's evening, however, was tempered as Long Beach State rallied back from two games down to defeat the Tigers, 3-2. The ensuing night featured more Pacific history as freshman Svenja Engelhardt (Sinsheim, Germany) tied a 24-year old record with 11 aces in Pacific's 3-1 win over Cal State Northridge. Engelhardt performance tied the record set by set by Robin Burns against Fresno State on Oct. 18, 1983.

The following weekend, Pacific breezed past Cal State Bakersfield and exacted some revenge against Cal State Fullerton to move to 13-5 on the season and 6-3 in the Big West Conference.

Unfortunately Pacific dropped three of their next four matches, including a five-set match at home to UC Irvine on Nov. 3.

Pacific closed its 2007 Big West Conference season with two victories over Cal State Northridge and UC Davis, but the Tigers suffered a 3-1 loss to Long Beach State to finish 9-7 in Big West play.

Clinging to faint hopes at a return to the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers gave the selection committee another reason to consider Pacific at the 29th Annual Bankers Classic. Pacific closed the regular season with back-to-back wins over Fresno State and Cincinnati to earn their third tournament championship of the season.

Pacific's championship win over Cincinnati featured yet another record setting performance, this time from Uhl. Kara set a Tiger team record for total attempts as she took 93 swings in the match, breaking the mark set by former Pacific legend Elsa Stegemann in 1999 against Michigan when she had 92 attempts on Dec. 4, 1999. Uhl turned her 93 attempts into a career-high 38 kills.

Following the match, Uhl was named the tournament MVP. Joining Uhl on the all-tournament team were Magud and sophomore Masha Vaysburg (Livermore, Calif.).

Although the Tigers did not earn an NCAA berth, the 2007 season showed immense growth from the 8-21 mark Pacific finished the 2006 season with.

Following the year, Hilbers and Anderson headlined the All-Big West team for Pacific as the duo each earned All-Big West First Team honors. Magud, MimMack and Engelhardt each earned All-Big West Honorable Mention, while Engelhardt was also named to the All-Big West Freshman Team.

The unsung catalyst for the Tigers' improvement during the 2007 was junior transfer Shannon Krug (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Shannon led the Tigers with 1189 assists and finished the season with a Big West Conference best 13.36 assists per game. Krug's assist per game average ranked 12th in the country.

Krug's ability to find her hitters allowed Hilbers and Anderson to blossom this season. Johanna finished the season with a team-leading 329 kills, while Anderson was right behind with 326 kills. Magud finished with a team-high 503 digs, giving her a career total of 1903 digs.

Another individual that emerged for the Tigers in 2007 was Engelhardt. Svenja set the Pacific record for aces in a single season with 64, breaking Vikki Simmonis' mark of 63 aces in 1992. Like Krug, Svenja finished among the nation's best as her .77 aces per game ranked third in the country. Engelhardt also averaged 3.14 kills per game and should only get better with a full year of experience as well as time in the weight room.

The departure of Hilbers and Magud next season will hinder Pacific in the 2008 season, but with the return of Anderson, Engelhardt, Krug, MimMack and Uhl, the Tigers appear ready to contend for the Big West title once again.