AZUSA, Calif. -- To say tonight's game was important for both Azusa Pacific and Biola would be understatement. It was huge.
The NAIA's No. 19-ranked Eagles and Cougars were both tied with Vanguard at 9-7 for fourth in the GSAC with 4 matches remaining. A fourth place finish means a first-round NAIA Region II playoff game at home.
In a matter of an hour and a half, though, a 3-way tie for fourth became a 2-way tie for fifth as Azusa Pacific dazzled Biola with an effective serve and an efficient offense to the tune of a 3-1 (30-22, 27-30, 30-23, 30-16) win over the Eagles.
Coupled with a No. 10 California Baptist sweep of Vanguard tonight, the Cougars now own sole possession of the GSAC's fourth spot and complete their first season sweep of the Eagles since 1991. The Cougars face Vanguard Saturday in Costa Mesa.
Azusa Pacific, which has won 4 straight and 6 of its last 8, improves to 19-10 overall, 10-7 GSAC. Biola, which suffers its fourth defeat in its past 6 matches, falls to 18-9, 9-8.
"This is a huge win for us, because every team that we're fighting with we still had to play in the final 4 games (including Biola)," said Azusa Pacific head coach Chris Keife, whose 19 wins this season is the most for an Azusa Pacific first-year head coach. "To get this win puts us in a good situation."
Sophomore Chelsea Morgan had a match-high 22 kills in 32 attempts without committing a single hitting error. In the process, she set a school-record for hitting percentage in a match as her .688 hitting percentage breaks former Cougar great Lenee Hill's former record of .652 set in 1991.
With the match tied 1-1 and game 3 tied 14-14, the Cougars began to inch ahead. The Cougars scored 6 of the next 7 points, the final 2 coming off a pair of Courtney Fox service aces.
The Cougars ended the match with 15 aces, 7 of which came in the opening game.
Biola stayed within 4 points at 22-18, but Morgan responded with back-to-back kills and then another after an Eagle attack error to push the lead up to 26-18. it was all elementary from that point as the Cougars just traded points until closing out that game.
From that point, the Cougars had all the momentum. They broke an 8-8 tie in the fourth game with a 13-5 run to take a 21-13 lead. The Eagles used a Cougar service error to stem the tide momentarily, but then 4 straight Cougar kills, 2 by Jenny Brickner, all but put the match away and gave the Cougars a 25-14 lead. Biola's Andrea Delsigne then had consecutive kills, but the Cougars scored the final 5 points on Brickner's serve to close the match. Morgan fittingly ended the match with a kill.
"Chelsea was awesome tonight" said Keife. "She was unstoppable offensively. Courtney ran a very efficient offense and fed the hot hitters all night long. We lowered our overall errors, kept the ball in play and passed well, which enabled us to run a good offense."
Brickner finished with 18 kills and 7 blocks. Colleen Walker had 11 kills, 11 digs and 7 aces. Fox finished with 66 assists. Brittany Wing led Biola with 18 kills.
