AZUSA, Calif. – It had all the drama and excitement a five-set match should have. Unfortunately for the Cougars they couldn't grab the victory.
Point Loma did just enough to grab a 3-2 (13-25, 25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13) victory against the Cougars on Tuesday evening. It was Azusa Pacific third five-set contest in their last five matches.
Mattie Shelford had her second straight match with 20-plus kills by slamming down 23 to lead all players. Ashley Midland had 13 kills and a .357 hitting mark to aid in the Cougars cause. Alyssa Tavera had her third double-double with a 33-assist, 12-dig evening. Ashley Swatek had a match high 27 digs to pace the back line defense.
For the Sea Lions Bethany Mandon had a team best 19 kills. Preseason PacWest Player of the Year Savannah Wedemeyer dished out 47 assists and had 18 digs with five kills.
With the victory the Sea Lions up their record to 16-8 overall and 10-5 in league matches while Azusa Pacific falls to 12-11 and 8-6 respectively.
The Cougars raced out to 12-3 lead to start the opening set. After the first 15 points Point Loma had six errors while the Cougars countered that with five kills. The home team continued to press ahead and after a Swatek service aces they held a 15-6 lead and the Sea Lions used both timeouts. The Sea Lions never had an answer for an outstanding attack by the Cougars who had 12 kills in addition to their three service aces to aid in their 1-0 lead in the match.
Point Loma flipped the script on the Cougars in the second stanza as they won eight of the first 10 points. During those first nine points they passed their first set blocking total by winning three points via the block. Despite cutting their deficit to 10-5, Azusa Pacific couldn't draw closer as the Sea Lions grew their advantage to 14-5. The Cougars got as close as 20-15 down the stretch in the second set but no closer as the Sea Lions tied the match at a set each. Point Loma's 12 kills, three services and five team blocks made the difference.
Neither team could grab control in the early moments of the third stanza until the Sea Lions scored three straight to make it 13-10; forcing an Azusa Pacific timeout. Point Loma's offense was clicking in the early going as they were hitting .438. Unfortunately the stoppage didn't stem the visitor's momentum as they continued their run with four unanswered points. Trailing 17-10, the Cougars put together a 9-4 spurt to get within 21-19. However, the home team couldn't bring their deficit underneath two points as the rally fell short.
Despite staking a claim to a 3-1 lead to start the fourth frame, the Sea Lions won six of the next seven points to keep momentum on their side of the net. The Cougars stayed tough and retook the lead at 15-14 and added to that with a Crystal Dedes service ace. Moments later an Ally Gonzalez kill gave the Cougars a 20-17 edge and both teams had taken all their timeouts. On the Cougars third set point, Shelford threw down her sixth kill of the frame to send the match to a decisive fifth set.
As the teams traded sides of the net at the 15th point of the set, neither team had held a lead bigger than a point. That changed when Natalie Klapp had a kill then a block solo to give Azusa Pacific a 10-8 edge. Point Loma rallied and took a 13-12 edge after bad set which caused the Cougars to take a timeout. The Sea Lions grabbed a two-point lead on the next point with their sixth service ace of the contest. After the Cougars saved one match on a Shelford kills, Point Loma won the next point to seal the five set win.
Azusa Pacific begins a five-match road swing on Thursday with a contest at PacWest newcomer Concordia at 7 p.m.
