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TAKASHIMA CLOSES CAREER ON TOP: A four-year starting role in a Pacific uniform for Kelsy Takashima finished right where it should have in 2011, with the senior sitting at the top of the selections for the All-Northwest Conference Volleyball Team.
 
Takashima was selected to the league’s top team for the second time, completing a career where she earned All-NWC distinction all four years.  She led the Pacific volleyball program to their best finish in four seasons.
 
Takashima established herself as one of the top hitting players in school history, this after a move back to her natural middle blocker position after playing her junior season at outside hitter. She finished ranked second in the NWC with a .323 hitting percentage, which set a Boxers' single season record.  She led Pacific and ranked second in the league with 326 kills and was fourth in the league with an average of 3.26 kills per set.  In addition, Takashima led the league with 0.54 service aces per set and her total of 54 aces fell one short of the school single season record.
 
Over the course of the season, Takashima finished with double-digit kills in all but six matches.  She slammed a season-high 24 kills against Whitman on Oct. 14 and put up a Pacific season-high .556 hitting percentage, with 22 kills and just two errors, against No. 22 Pacific Lutheran on Nov. 5.  She also had nine service aces in a match against Mt. St. Mary's (N.Y.) on Sept. 2, which tied the Boxers single match record.  She was named NWC Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Week twice, earning honors on Oct. 16 and in the final week of the season on Nov. 8.
 
“Kelsy is unquestionably one of the league's most valuable players,” said Pacific Head Volleyball Coach Lena Chan.  “I say that because she has incredible stats, but more so because she never concerns herself with the stats.  Kelsy's No. 1 concern is the team.  She provides a sense of comfort and consistency both on and off the court.”

THOMPSON DEFENDS HER ALL-CONFERENCE STANDING: Pacific’s key defensive player returned to a spot among the conference’s elite as Jade Thompson was selected to the All-NWC Volleyball Second Team.  The junior moved up after receiving honorable mention as a sophomore.
 
Thompson finished third in the NWC and set a Pacific single season record with an average of 5.17 digs per set.  Her total of 517 digs also smashed the single season mark of 443 set by Jill Hertel in 1996.  Thompson had double-digit digs in all but three matches, topped by an impressive 45 digs in a five-set match against Willamette on Oct. 7.
 
“Not only did Jade make a lot of defensive plays, but more importantly she directed our team defense from the libero position to be the best defensive team in the conference,” Chan said.  “Jade has become a leader and an inspiration to our team.  Her drive to lead a team that competes at the national level is evident in everything that she does.”


BLOCK RECOGNIZED IN INJURY-SHORTENED SEASON: Outside hitter Alexa Block embraced a larger leadership role for the Boxers in 2011, both on the floor and during practice.  Despite sitting out the Boxers’ final six matches with a shoulder injury, coaches deemed Block worthy on an honorable mention to the All-NWC Team.
 
A Second Team All-NWC selection in 2009, Block led the Boxers and finished ranked second in the NWC with 3.37 kills per set, slamming home 246 balls.  She also finished third for the Boxers with 197 digs and fourth with 20 service aces.  Block finished the season with 10 double-doubles (kills & digs), topped by a 22-kill, 11-dig performance against Millikin on Sept. 3.  She also put together a 21-kill, 15-dig performance against Whitman on Nov. 14 and she had a season-high 26 digs against Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 8.
 
“This season Alexa developed into a true threat at outside hitter because she was not only able to do all of the skills needed to be a great outside hitter, but she also brought a sense of confidence to our teammates,” Chan said.  “Alexa makes it clear that she believes in each and everyone's abilities on the team.  Her season ending early is like a movie sequel; we are really looking forward to see what she can do next season.”
 
A TURNAROUND SEASON: After winning just five matches in 2010, Northwest Conference coaches picked the 2011 Pacific volleyball team to finish ninth out of nine teams.  Solid play from the Boxers’ returners and the addition of some well-placed newcomers, though, turned it into Pacific’s best season in four years.
 
The Boxers finished the season with a 13-12 overall record, their most wins since the 2007 season.  The Boxers finished in fifth in the NWC with a competitive 7-9 record.  The 13 overall wins marks an eight-game improvement over 2010, one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA Division III volleyball this season.
 
Pacific’s performance in two tournaments over the first two weeks of the season proved to be a preview of what was to come.  The Boxers went 6-2 in tournaments in New York and California.  The six victories included wins over top-flight teams from Oneonta State (N.Y.), Pomona-Pitzer and East Texas Baptist. Three of those wins came with Pacific losing the first set, a sign of resiliency missing in past years.
 
The Boxers opened the NWC season with a three-set road win at Whitman and then shocked the conference a week later by knocking off then No. 16 ranked Puget Sound in four sets at the Stoller Center.  It was the Boxers’ first victory over the Loggers since 2007 and just the fifth victory all-time over the perennial NWC volleyball power.
 
Pacific pulled through the first half of the NWC season with a 5-3 record and the Boxers battled injuries the entire way.  Outside hitter Keahi Braginsky-Ahloo missed seven matches in the stretch with an ankle injury.  Setter Malea Webb also missed four matches during the stretch.  But no injury had more effect than that suffered by outside hitter Alexa Block.  A shoulder injury suffered in the Oct. 15 match against eventual NWC champion Whitworth rendered Block out for the rest of the season.
 
The absence was felt as the Boxers struggled to a 2-6 record over their final eight matches.  Needing one win to secure a winning season, the Boxers finally came through in the final weekend with a four-set victory over Willamette on Nov. 4.  On Senior Night the following evening, a spirited team took No. 22 ranked Pacific Lutheran to the brink, falling to the Lutes in an epic five-set match.
 
RECORD WRITING: Along with their much-improved record came a number of revisions to the Pacific volleyball record book.  The Boxers finished 2011 with seven individual records fall, three individual or team single match records and a pair of team season marks. 
 
Kelsy Takashima broke or tied four records in her senior year.  She claimed the all eras single season record with a .323 attack percentage while setting 25/30-point era season records for service aces (54) and service aces per set (0.54).  She also tied the single match record with nine aces against Mt. St. Mary (N.Y.) on Sept. 2.  Jade Thompson claimed the all eras record for both digs (517) and digs per set (5.17) and set the mark for digs in a four-set match with 37 against Lewis & Clark on Sept. 24.
 
As a team, Pacific set an all eras record with a .191 attack percentage.  They also rode the record performance of Thompson to a team mark for digs in a four-set match with 109.  A complete list of the records, along with the previous records, can be found at the bottom of this page or by linking to Volleyball Records Page.

MARIAH IN THE MIDDLE: While Kelsy Takashima held on to the share of the headlines, fellow middle blocker Mariah McHolland continued to be a steady, reliable presence in her second year with the Boxers.  McHolland finished the season third for the Boxers with 206 kills and a .254 hitting percentage and was second for the team with 59 blocks.
 
McHolland was especially steady for the Boxers during the last third of the season as the team compensated for the absence of outside hitter Alexa Block.  She had double-digit kills in each of Pacific’s final five matches, which included three 12-kill efforts.  She had her season high of 14 kills early in the year, against Whittier on Sept. 9.
 
BRAGGING ABOUT KEAHI: Also in her second year in a Pacific uniform, Keahi Braginsky-Ahloo continue to be a key part of the Boxers’ plans at outside hitter.  Braginsky-Ahloo finished fourth for the Boxers with 177 kills and averaged a total of 2.53 kills per set to go along with a total of 175 digs.  She finished a season-high 20 kills against Whittier on Sept. 9.  Braginsky-Ahloo started 13 of the 18 matches she played in and missed seven matched in September and October with an ankle injury.
 

LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE NEWCOMERS: Pacific received great production all season from their five newcomers, three of which worked their way into regular starting roles.  Malea Webb assumed starting setter duties in her first year and played a key role in the Boxers’ turnaround in 2011.  Webb led the Boxers with 531 assists and finished ranked sixth in the NWC with 6.40 assists per set.  A multi-faceted player, Webb also finished with 29 assists to finish fourth for the Boxers in that category.  She saved her best of her performances for last, registering 40 assists vs. Pacific Lutheran on Nov. 5.
 
Gabriela Vega, meanwhile, provided a strong compliment to Webb in the setter position.  Vega finished with 488 assists and 4.98 assists per set, and started in three of the Boxers’ 25 matches while Webb was injured.  In addition to her passing, Vega proved a valuable defensive player and registered five double-doubles (digs & assists) over the course of the season.  She finished with an impressive 52 assists against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Sept. 10.
 
Right side Jowell Guerreiro proved to be one of the surprises of the season for Head Coach Lena Chan, working her way into a regular starting role.  Getting the start in 16 matches, Guerreiro proved to get kills at just the time the Boxers’ needed them, finishing with 75 kills and a .192 hitting percentage.
 
After an injury kept sophomore outside hitter Keahi Braginsky-Ahloo out of the lineup for seven matches, Haley Bedell proved that she belonged in the starting lineup as well.  Bedell finished the season with 138 kills and an average of 1.66 kills per set and started 15 of the 24 matches she played in.  She amassed a season best 13 kills against Willamette on Nov. 4.
 
A TOP HITTING TEAM: From start of the season to the end, the Boxers ranked as one of the top hitting teams in the Northwest Conference.  Pacific led the league with a total of 1,243 kills and was second with an average of 12.43 kills per set.  That total also ranked 50th among all NCAA Division III teams.  The team’s .191 hitting percentage, a school single season record, ranked third in the NWC.
 
Pacific also proved to be among the conference and national leaders in assists and digs.  The Boxers led the NWC with 1,162 assists and ranked second in the NWC and 35th in Division III with 11.62 assists per set.  The Boxers led the league with 177 aces and also led NWC with 1,821 digs.  The Boxers’ 18.21 digs per set also led the NWC and ranked 46th in Division III.
 
SEASON SUMMARY
Overall Record: 13-12
NWC Record/Finish: 7-9 (5th)
Home Record: 4-5       Away Record: 4-5      Neutral Site: 5-2
 
SEASON HONORS
First Team All-Northwest Conference: Kelsy Takashima (MB)
Second Team All-Northwest Conference: Jade Thompson (L)
Honorable Mention All-Northwest Conference: Alexa Block (OH)
Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week: Kelsy Takashima (Week of Oct. 10-16; Week of Oct. 31-Nov. 6).
 
RECORDS TIED/BROKEN IN 2011
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
Digs – 4 Sets: 37, Jade Thompson at Lewis & Clark, Sept. 24 (previous 33 by Nettie Witheridge vs. Cal State East Bay, 9/3/05)
Service Aces/Service Aces – 3 Sets: 9, Kelsy Takashima vs. Mt. St. Mary (N.Y.), Sept. 2 (tied with 9 by Chrissi Beck vs. Multnomah, 10/17/03)
Attack Percentage – Season: .323, Kelsy Takashima (previous .293, Anela Iseke, 2007 (25/30 pt. era) and .321, Jenn Crowder, 1999 (all eras))
Service Aces – Season (25/30 Pt. Era): 54, Kelsy Takashima (previous 36 by Melissa Dunn & Megan Van Domelen, 2006)
Service Aces Per Set – Season (25/30 Pt. Era): 0.54, Kelsy Takashima (previous 0.40 by Melissa Dunn, 2007)
Digs – Season: Jade Thompson, 517 (previous 426 by Thompson, 2010 (25/30 pt. era) and Jill Hertel, 443, 1996 (all eras))
Digs Per Set – Season: Jade Thompson, 5.17 (previous 4.79 by Thompson, 2010 (all eras))
 
TEAM RECORDS
Digs – 4 Sets: 109 at Lewis & Clark, Sept. 24 (previous 105 vs. Willamette, 11/3/01)
Attack Percentage – Season: .191 (previous .148, 2007 (25/30 pt. era) and .189, 1995 (all eras)
Digs – Season (25/30 pt. era): 1,821 (previous 1,731, 2007)