HONOLULU, Hawaii – Victory was in sight. Until it was taken away.
The Cougars were victims of a Hawaii Pacific rally as the Sharks recorded a 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 10-25, 25-23, 15-11) win on Saturday.
Azusa Pacific's defeat snaps a four-match winning streak in Hawaii.
The Cougars spread around their offense which was led by Julianne Miller's 13-kill, .364 hitting percentage evening. Madison Ogas and Ally Gonzalez each had 10 kills. Sara Wagenveld chipped in nine kills in four sets.
Hawaii Pacific's preseason all-conference player Pomai Recca had a match high 27 kills which ties her second most kill output in a match this season.
In the opening set the home team did enough during the final critical points to grab the early match lead. With Azusa Pacific holding a 17-16 edge, Hawaii Pacific nudged in front with three straight unanswered points. The Cougars pulled within a single point twice but Hawaii Pacific closed the set by winning four of the last five points.
Despite the setback, Azusa Pacific rallied nicely in the next set. After trading points in the early going, the Cougars turned a one-point deficit (9-10) into a 17-11 lead and never looked back despite the Sharks best effort. Hawaii Pacific pulled as close as 18-17 but the Cougars did enough down the stretch to knot the match at one set each.
The third stanza completely belonged the Cougars. Azusa Pacific tallied a .304 hitting percentage and took advantage of nine Hawaii Pacific attack errors to cruise to the 15-point win in the third frame.
A nip-and-tucked fourth set eventually went the way of the home team. With the scoreboard reading 16-16, Hawaii Pacific scored six of the next eight points to taking a seemingly comfortable 22-18 lead. However, the Cougars fought back and eventually fought off three Hawaii Pacific set points. The Sharks converted the frame on their fourth opportunity to force the decisive set.
During the winner-take-all final stanza, Hawaii Pacific never trailed. The Cougar found themselves in holes of 8-4 and 9-5 but rallied back to pull within 11-10. Unfortunately they couldn't get any closer and the home team won four of the last five points.
Azusa Pacific completes their romp through Hawaii with a Monday later afternoon match against Hawaii Hilo.
