AZUSA, Calif. – The points were exchanged at a fast and furious pace as two equally talented teams battled in a critical PacWest conference match on Friday evening.
After 207 total points, Dixie State prevailed in a five-set thriller (25-19, 24-26, 25-22, 16-25, 15-9) over Azusa Pacific.
Dixie State came into the match just a half-game back of first-place California Baptist while Azusa Pacific was just a game back of the league's top spot. Dixie State moves its record to 13-8 overall and 10-3 in league matches while the Cougars fall to 12-10 and 8-5 respectively.
Despite the setback Mattie Shelford paced the evening's attack efforts with 21. Natalie Klapp contributed a double-double (10 kills, 17 digs) while Ally Gonzalez recorded 12 kills.
Taylor Duryea set the standard for the visitors with an 18-kill performance. The back row tandem of Alex Anderson and Talia Brown combined for 39 digs.
The opening set showed how evenly matched the teams were. There wasn't a lead larger than two points for either team until Dixie State held a 16-13 edge after a Kailey Frei service ace. Down the stretch the Cougars couldn't pull any closer than two points as an efficient Red Storm attacked grabbed the opening set. As a team Dixie State had 40 attempts without an error as they hit .425 with 17 kills.
Dixie State finally committed their first attack error early in the second set on the match's 54th point but the opening moments of the second stanza were nip-and-tuck. Just like the opening frame, the Cougars held a 16-13 lead for the first lead of more than two points for either team. After a Dixie State timeout, they went on a 7-2 scoring spurt to grab a 20-18 lead and force the home team into a timeout of their own. Coming out of the break, Azusa Pacific retook the lead and on their second set point they tied the match. During that frame, Mattie Shelford had seven of the Cougars 17 kills.
Azusa Pacific couldn't keep their momentum rolling as Dixie State jumped out to a 13-7 lead to start the third set. None the less, the Cougars persisted as they scored seven unanswered points to take a 14-13 edge. The tit-for-tat point exchanged continued until the Red Storm pulled away at 18-18. Dixie State finished the frame on a 7-4 scoring spurt clinching the stanza on Brette Anderson's first kills of the set.
The Cougars found themselves in a five-point hole at 7-2 which forced an early timeout to start the fourth set. Azusa Pacific rallied quite nicely as they won 15 of the next 19 points to complete grab control of the frame. Mattie Shelford eventually ended the set with a kill on the right straight down the line and into the Dixie State libero's chest. The winner-take-all set was forced, in part, because of three Cougars service aces and four team blocks.
Dixie State started the final set on a 6-3 scoring binge and force the Cougars into a timeout. The break didn't stem the Red Storm's momentum as they went ahead 8-3 as the teams switched sides. Azusa Pacific couldn't get their deficit under four points as the Red Storm grabbed the crucial victory.
Azusa Pacific is back on the court on Tuesday evening when they host Point Loma at 7 p.m.
