RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific is ranked No. 6 in the NAIA, but the Cougars have yet to strike the right balance that can bring it into the ranks of the Golden State Athletic Conference's elite.

The Cougars never led and didn't even tie the score after the first 4 points of the match in a 25-18, 25-14, 25-19 loss at No. 2-ranked California Baptist Thursday night, blowing its best opportunity to take sole possession of second place in the conference standings. Azusa Pacific now sits in a virtual tie for fifth place, just a half-game ahead of a Vanguard squad that can match the Cougars' GSAC win total with a win Saturday against Hope International.

Senior outside hitter Jill Baker reached a match-high 12 kills, an impressive number considering how predictable Azusa Pacific's offense was. The Cougars went to Baker nearly 3 times as often as any other attacker, setting her 45 times while no other player registered more than 17 attempts. The results were hardly fair to Baker, Azusa Pacific's all-time kills leader, who had very little court to work with around a Lancer defense geared towards slowing her down.

In the opening set, California Baptist limited Baker to 4 kills and 3 errors in 11 attempts, yet the 25-18 setback resulted in nearly twice as many swings for Baker (20) in the second set, an even more lopsided 25-14 defeat. The third set featured 14 more attacks for the GSAC's kills leader, but the Cougars dug themselves into an early 8-2 hole and never got closer than 3 points the rest of the way in the match-clinching 25-19 loss.

By contrast, all 6 California Baptist attackers with more than 1 attack finished with at least 5 kills, with a trio tallying a match-high 9 kills for the balanced Lancers offense. Fei Shi tallied 9 kills on a team-high 31 attempts, but 4 other players had at least 14 hitting attempts.

The Cougars didn't help themselves in the serving game, either, notching just 1 service ace against 8 missed serves. Azusa Pacific's few bright spots included Baker's team-high 10-dig defensive effort, her 14th double-double of the season, and team-high 4-block performances from sophomores Ariel Beetstra and Krista Brenner. Brenner has collected at least 3 blocks in 10 straight matches, while Beetstra has now registered 11 blocks in the past 2 matches.

With the loss, Azusa Pacific is now 17-7 overall and 8-4 in GSAC play. California Baptist has seized sole possession of second in the conference with a 9-2 GSAC mark, and the Lancers are now 19-2 overall. The Cougars have the weekend off before visiting a San Diego Christian squad that is winless in GSAC play Tuesday night (Oct. 20) in El Cajon.

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