WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. – Azusa Pacific got off to a quick start on the opening day of the NAIA Volleyball Championship Tournament, but No. 7-ranked Dordt (Iowa) College refused to be
rattled and came back to put together a 15-8, 15-5, 8-15, 15-8 victory over the No. 19-ranked Cougars during Wednesday morning's pool play.
 
"We have a lineup that's made up largely of freshmen and sophomores, so it's an inexperienced lineup and they are learning as they go," said Cougar head coach Gerry Gregory. "As I look at the tournament field, we are competitive with everyone, but each match is going to be a gut check for us."
 
The Cougars jumped out to an early 6-0 lead over the Defenders, but Dordt reeled off 11 straight points to take an 11-6 lead and then limited the Cougars to just 2 points for the remainder of the
first game.
 
With a 2-1 lead early in the second game, Azusa Pacific again fell victim to a quick flurry of points for Dordt, falling behind 6-2, before Jenna Sagehorn was able to get one of her team-high 14 kills for a sideout. The Cougars scored a point, but quickly gave up 3 more to trail 9-3. After 2 more points brought the Cougars to within 9-5, Dordt finished off the game with 6 straight points to take a commanding 2 games to none lead in the match.
 
As they had in the 2 previous games, the Cougars took another early lead in the third game, 2-0. And just as Dordt had done in the previous 2 games, the Defenders used a run to take a retake control, scoring 5 straight points for a 5-2 advantage. This time, Azusa Pacific did not let Dordt run away with the match, battling back to a 6-6 tie after a Mahea Burgess ace. With the score tied at 7-7, the Cougars used a 5-point run of their own, capped by one of 2 aces from Roxanna Mercer, to take a 12-7 lead before winning Game 3, 15-8.
 
"Nothing really came easy for us," said Gregory. "Our passing was off a little bit, our blocking was off a little bit, and we had to struggle for every point we got. I thought we fought really well and
never gave up, and just had to persevere through a quality opponent in a challenging circumstance."
 
Trailing 2 games to 1, the Cougars did not get their early run in the fourth game, falling behind 10-1, before closing to within 10-3. Dordt answered with 2 more points, but Azusa Pacific would not go down quietly, scoring 5 straight points to cut the lead to 12-8 before Dordt finished off the match with a 15-8 game 4 win.
 
"We're not at full strength, and that is a little hard for us," said Gregory, referring to All-GSAC Christy Kimmel's case of mononucleosis. "Losing Christy really decreases our flexibility and our ability to make some adjustments we would like to."
 
Lydia Ayala had 11 kills and a match-high 5 blocks, while Tishanna Pope added 12 kills and 4 blocks. Sagehorn also tallied a team-high 16 digs, while T.J. Gause and Annette Wilson each added 11 digs in their first career national tournament appearance.
 
The Cougars drop to 0-1 in pool play and will face No. 2-ranked Dickinson State (N.D.) at 12:45 p.m. Azusa Pacific drops to 24-10.
 

GAME STATS

Azusa Pacific    8   5  15   8
Dordt           15  15   8  15
 
Leaders
Kills - Netz (DC) 23, Baber (DC) 17,
        Sagehorn (APU) 14, Pope (APU) 12
Digs - Beckering (DC) & Poppema (DC) 19, Sagehorn
       (APU) 16, Burgess (APU) & Wilson (APU) 11
Blocks - Netz (DC), Baber (DC) & Ayala (APU) 5,
         Bouma (DC) & Pope (APU) 4, Gause (APU) 3
Aces - Bouma (DC) 3, Mercer (APU) & Poppema (DC) 2