SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- The effects of nearly 3 weeks away from live competition resulted in a slow start for Azusa Pacific, but the fifth-seeded Cougars rallied from an opening-set defeat for a 23-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-17 win over unseeded Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) College in Tuesday's pool play opener for both teams at the NAIA Volleyball National Championship.

Senior outside hitter and GSAC Player of the Year Jill Baker registered a match-high 19 kills, but she also committed 10 attack errors in her team's first live competition since Azusa Pacific's 5-set win over Concordia that secured the Cougars' third-place Golden State Athletic Conference finish. Sophomores Whittany Radcliffe and Marguerite Hanna tallied 10 kills apiece, and Radcliffe tied sophomore middle blocker Amy Alkazin as the Cougars' blocking leader in the match with 3 block assists.

With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 1-0 in pool play, and the Cougars will take on Doane (Neb.) College on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Central before wrapping up pool play Thursday evening with a 5:45 p.m. matchup with eighth-seeded College of Idaho.

After dropping the opening set by a 25-23 score, Azusa Pacific notched the first 5 points of the next set and pulled away with a 7-0 run for the 25-15 second-set victory. Baker tallied 4 of her kills in those 2 bursts, and she registered another 4 without an error in the Cougars' 25-21 third-set win. Radcliffe provided 3 kills in a 9-1 run to open the fourth set, maintaining a 5-point margin the rest of the way with a match-clinching 25-17 win. Radcliffe posted 6 kills in 8 errorless attempts in the fourth set.

The lengthy layoff, its longest of the season, clearly affected several aspects of Azusa Pacific's game, most notably a defense that averaged over 15 blocks per match over a 4-match winning streak that closed out the regular season. The Cougars managed just 4 total blocks in the victory, its lowest total of the year in a match that lasted more than 3 sets, but sophomore libero Robin Portela came up with a match-high 23 digs, including 19 over the first 3 sets.

The opening set also featured 4 of Azusa Pacific's 8 service errors, but freshman setter Sophie Burns helped rally the Cougars' serving game with a match-high 4 aces, serving 2 each in the second and third sets. The offense also took a couple sets to really get into a groove, peaking in the third set with 17 kills against just 3 errors. The one area of the game seemingly unaffected by the nearly 3 weeks away from game action was passing, with the Cougars giving up just 2 aces to Lewis-Clark State over the 4-set match.

The Cougars are now 25-8 on the season, matching last season's 25 wins for the second-highest single-season win total for Azusa Pacific's volleyball program since 1990.

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