Box Score RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Looking to knock of a nationally ranked opponent for the second straight day, Azusa Pacific came up short as Western Washington recorded a 3-1 (16-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-20) victory at the GNAC-PacWest challenged hosted by Cal Baptist.

On Thursday evening the Cougars beat #13 Central Washington in straight sets. In Friday's match both teams had big scoring runs with the Vikings providing enough offense to get the victory. 

In the opening set the Cougars roared back from an early deficit. Down 12-7, Mattie Shelford helped spark a 6-0 scoring spurt with three kills as Azusa Pacific took a 13-12 advantage. The Vikings stemmed the onslaught for a point as they tied it at 13-13 but the Cougars freight train of momentum continued to roll as they claimed a 25-16 first set win.

The second set had a similar feel as Western Washington took a 13-9 lead. Once again the Cougars responded and looked to be in solid position to take the set as they went ahead 19-16. Unlike the opening set, the Vikings responded by going on a 7-1 scoring run in tallying a 23-20 lead. Azusa Pacific was able to trim their deficit down to two points but no closer as the teams split the first two sets.

Western Washington took a commanding 19-9 lead in the third set but a persistent Cougars squad got that deficit down to 22-19 but they couldn't get over the hump as the Vikings took a one set lead in the match. 

Early in the fourth set the Cougars held an 8-3 lead which forced a Western Washington timeout. The brief break did some good for the Wildcats as they scored nine of the set's next 10 points to grab a 12-9 lead. While Azusa Pacific was able to tie to the score on four occasions, they could not retake the lead. In the late stages of the set a Haley Beestra kill completed a four-point scoring run for the Cougars and tied the match at 20-20. The Vikings used their final timeout and won the final five points of the set to clinch the match.

Shelford continued her solid effort to start the season by recording a match high 17 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. It is the third time in the last four matches she had the most kills by a Cougar. Joy Reinke chipped in a 10-kill day.

Jaden Louie dolled out 24 assists while her partner in the 6-2 offense, Tristan Racich, tallied 21 assists. Racich also had 10 digs to post the second double-double of the season for Azusa Pacific. Kristina Kam had an outstanding defensive day with 28 digs. 

Western Washington's Kelsey Moore and Racehl Roeder each had a Viking best 14 kills. Samantha Hutchinson played a key role along the backlines with a 34-dig match.

Azusa Pacific has one more match in the three-day event as they square off against Northwest Nazarene at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.