AZUSA, Calif. -- The NAIA's No. 10-ranked Azusa Pacific overcame deficits in all 5 games in a thrilling 30-32, 30-25, 28-30, 30-22, 17-15 victory over Vanguard in the Cougars' home opener Thursday evening. Senior Chelsea Morgan came up big when it mattered the most for the Cougars, notching her 20th kill to set up match point at 16-15 in the final frame, then combined with junior Brianne Huff for a block to seal the win and preserve Azusa Pacific's perfect 6-0 start to the season.
"It feels great to win a close match like this," said Morgan. "It helps us to have something to build on when we need this type of experience to win matches later on in the season."
Morgan's 20 kills were tops in the match, and she finished with a season-high 7 blocks. Huff was 1 of 3 other Cougars to post double-digit kill totals, collecting 14 kills and 6 blocks, while freshman Jill Baker added 15 kills, 11 digs and 4 blocks. Sophomore Megan Burch finished with a season-high 12 kills.
"Chelsea really helped us with her leadership," said Cougar head coach Chris Keife. "She did a great job putting the ball away and stepping up when we needed it most."
In the first game, Azusa Pacific recovered from an 18-13 deficit with an 11-3 run to take a 24-21 advantage, and the Cougars had a game point opportunity when Morgan and sophomore Allison Kincheloe teamed for a block to take a 29-28 lead, but a hitting error combined with a pair of Lions kills sent Game 1 to Vanguard, 32-30. The second game featured another comeback after Vanguard hit 18 points, as Burch put down 3 kills to spark a 12-4 run that gave the Cougars a 26-22 lead, and Huff sealed the game with a pair of kills to even up the match at a game apiece with a 30-25 Game 2 win.
Again trailing 18-14 in Game 3, Azusa Pacific went on another run, this time a 9-3 spark to take a 23-21 advantage. With the Cougars leading 25-24, Vanguard used 3 opposing attack errors to help itself to a 5-point run that led to the Lions' 30-28 win. In Game 4, the Cougars trailed early, but with a 14-13 deficit, scored 7 straight points to take control and cruise to a 30-22 win to set up the deciding fifth game.
Vanguard scored 2 quick points and took control with a 3-1 lead early, but the teams tied at every point the rest of the way until Morgan led Azusa Pacific's break from the 15-15 deadlock for the victory.
Kincheloe tallied 4 service aces and set a personal career mark with 29 digs, and sophomore Brittany Brown added 27 digs with 2 aces. The Cougars recovered from 7 first-game service errors to post a season-high 11 aces and set a season mark with 15 team blocks.
"Our serve receive was great, and we passed well all night," said Keife. "Even though we didn't serve very well to start the match, I was pleased with the way we continued to keep our focus on improving as the match went along."
With the win, Azusa Pacific runs its season-opening win streak to 6, tying the 2000 and 2001 squads for the longest season-opening win streak since the 1980 program reeled off 12 straight victories en route to the program's only NAIA Championship in volleyball. The Cougars improve to 2-0 in GSAC play, while Vanguard drops to 4-2 overall, 0-2 in conference.
