SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- The NAIA's No. 10-ranked Azusa Pacific weathered a major momentum shift after winning the first 2 sets before posting a 25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 27-25 road win over Westmont Saturday night, giving the Cougars their first Golden State Athletic Conference victory of the season.

Senior outside hitter Jill Baker was the match kills leader with 18, but it was a career night for Baker in the blocking department as she came up with 8 blocks, including 2 solo blocks just 4 points apart in the fourth set. Sophomore middle blocker Amy Alkazin also produced 8 blocks, tying her own career-high that she set in last year's 4-set win at Westmont.

"These matches at Westmont always seem to be very tough for us," Cougar head coach Chris Keife said. "We didn't play as well as I hoped after the first 2 sets, but I'm very happy to get out of Santa Barbara with a win against a good team."

Sophomore libero Robin Portela led the Azusa Pacific defense with a team-high 16 kills, and junior defensive specialist Julia Wehsener helped anchor the back row with a career-high 9 digs. Setters Raechel Jones and Sophie Burns combined for 15 digs and 41 assists.

Each of the 4 sets featured a minimum of 10 ties and 3 lead changes. In the opening set, only once did either team lead by more than 3 points, and the set was tied as late as 22-22 before the Cougars scored 3 of the next 4 points for the 25-23 win. In the second set, Azusa Pacific snapped a 14-14 deadlock with an 11-4 run for a 25-18 victory.

Needing just 1 more set for the sweep, it was Westmont that broke an 18-18 third-set tie for 7 of the final 11 points, pulling away for a 25-22 win that forced the fourth set. The teams traded 4-point runs to start the fourth set, the first of 15 ties in the final set. The last 4 tie scores came at 22, 23, 24, and 25 points, but Baker and sophomore outside hitter Marguerite Hanna delivered the match-clinching kills for back-to-back points for a 27-25 win.

"We just needed to get back to basics and return to doing the things we did well in the first 2 sets," Keife said. "We served tougher and really kept our errors down, and it paid off for us in that last set."

With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 10-4 overall, 1-1 GSAC, while Westmont drops to 8-3 overall and 0-2 GSAC. Both of the Warriors' conference losses are to teams ranked in the NAIA's Top 10. Azusa Pacific has now won 10 straight against Westmont, with the last 5 victories all coming in 4 sets.

The Cougars host San Diego Christian on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. before a 3 p.m. afternoon visit on Saturday, Sept. 19 afternoon at the NAIA's No. 7-ranked Point Loma Nazarene.