AZUSA, Calif. -- On senior night, a group of seven seniors made their final match in the Felix Event Center a memorable one as Azusa Pacific saved three match points to defeat Concordia in five sets 26-28, 25-20, 25-12, 26-28, and 19-17 in a Pacific West Conference match Thursday evening.
The Cougars (14-14, 10-9) saw five match points slide away in the fourth set, and trailed throughout the deciding set. However, they fought back from a 9-4 deficit and saved all three of the Eagles' opportunities before converting on the seventh match point for the team's first five-set victory at home this season.
"You can't ask for a bigger swing of emotions or highs and lows than what happened tonight," Azusa Pacific head coach Chris Keife said. "Coming out of that fifth set, we were down 9-4, but our girls held strong, chipped away at the lead, and made plays, fighting to the very end. I'm proud of how they performed on senior night."
Fittingly, it was the seniors who played a big role in the victory as Mattie Shelford paced the squad with 21 kills, while Katy Crouse added 21 digs and 14 kills of her own, including the game-winner.
Setter Jaden Louie assisted 28 kills, while libero Ashley Swatek had 14 digs with eight assists and Kristina Kam notched a team-high 22 digs. Also, in their last home match, Joy Reinke contributed a pair of kills and Crystal Dedes a pair of aces to the victory.
"The girls have done a fantastic job in their four years," Keife said. "Not only on the court, but in who we are as a team and what they have built here and the character we have. They are a huge reason for where we are today as a program, and I'm definitely going to miss this group of seniors.
On the first match point the Cougars faced, Shelford saved it with a kill. Then freshmanNatalie Klapp got kills on each of the next two match points, including one that came back over off a blocker's hand, but Klapp watched it land just inches from the line.
Crouse gave Azusa Pacific its first chance to end the match in the fifth set with a kill, but it was quickly erased. Then on the seventh try, the Cougars ended a long rally with the help of three seniors, getting a dig from Swatek, set from Louie, and the final blow from Crouse.
"Emotions were all over the board even before the match with this being senior night," Shelford said. "We wanted this so bad. We wanted to go out with a win. It was an amazing night and I'll never forget it for sure."
The Cougars had a set point in the first frame as well, but Shelford set the tone for the comeback with seven kills in the first 25 points in the second set. It was the seventh kill that starting a five-point run for the Cougars to earn a 17-12 that they held onto until a Natalie Klapp kill wrapped up the set and evened the overall score.
Azusa Pacific found its rhythm late in the third set, winning each of the final nine points to claim the set, 25-12. That momentum carried into the fourth set as Crouse fired her sixth kill of the set to give Azusa Pacific three match points at 24-21. However, the Eagles won each of the next three points and won seven of the last nine points to extend the match.
It was the third consecutive time that the Cougars had gone to a fifth set in Azusa, and after losing the first two, this one seemed to be following the same script as Concordia went ahead 11-7. However, kills by Ashley Midland and Ally Gonzalez followed by a Swatek ace put the Cougars right back in the match for the five-set triumph.
The Cougars will wrap up the season on Saturday at California Baptist, which will start at 7:00 p.m. as Azusa Pacific has the chance to clinch its 16th winning season in the last 17 years.
