SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican kept Azusa Pacific off balance offensively as they posted a 3-1 (25-14, 25-22, 19-25, 25-17) win on Thursday evening.

The Cougars came out of the gate flat and Dominican took full advantage. The home team hit .308 in the opening set to claim the early match lead.

Azusa Pacific jumped out to a 7-2 lead but couldn't hold it in the second set. The home team rallied and took the lead at 11-10. A nip-and-tuck frame ensued until Dominican grabbed control at the end.

Despite their hole in the match the Cougars got back into the match with a solid offensive third set in which they hit .333 as a team while holding the Penguins beneath the .050 mark.

Dominican nudged ahead 10-5 during the early moments of the fourth set. The Cougars attempted to rally but couldn't get their deficit under two points as Dominican claimed the four-set victory. In that final stanza the Cougars offense couldn't find their rhythm as they had nine kills but nine attack errors as well.

Mattie Shelford was the only Cougars with double figure kills as the senior posted a 20-kill evening.

The Penguins got a match high 24 kills from Aimee Steinwand while Brittany Latigue chipped-in a 12-kill effort with a .440 hitting percentage.

Dominican's back line had four players with at least 10 digs led by Amanda Lee's 18-dig performance. As a team the home team posted a 74-61 edge in digs.

Azusa Pacific continues their Bay Area swing on Friday against Holy Names.