FRESNO, Calif. – The Cougars had everything going against them after the first two sets but the young squad took a big step forward on Saturday afternoon.
Forced to rally in an environment that has not treated them kind, Azusa Pacific overcame a two-set deficit to post a 3-2 (21-25, 21-25, 25-12, 25-20, 15-7) win against Fresno Pacific.
It is the first time since the 2007 season an Azusa Pacific squad rallied from a two-set deficit to post a victory. In addition, despite not having good success on the road against Fresno Pacific, the Cougars fought and got their sixth all-time win inside the Sunbirds home court. Saturday's match was the 43rd all-time for the schools in Fresno.
Julianne Miller continued her stellar freshman campaign with career high 22 kills to pace the Cougars offense. She also had a team best five block assists. Miller did all this while recording a .559 hitting percentage.
Madison Ogas persistence as a double-double machine was evident once again. She had 11 kills while digging up a career high 26 balls for her eighth double-double of the season. The trio of Natalie Klapp, Ashley Midland and Ally Gonzalez all chipped-in nine kills.
Also contributing a career high was first-year setter Shaylah Kagehiro. She handed out 34 assists while adding 14 digs for her fourth double-double.
As the match unfolded it felt like it was going to be close even though Fresno Pacific won the first two sets. The Sunbirds won a pair of tightly contested stanzas to take a seemingly commanding lead.
During the third set the Cougars broke opening a nip-and-tuck stanza early. Holding an 8-7 lead, the Cougars won 13 of the final 18 points to get back in the contest. In the fourth frame, the Cougars never trailed once the points went into double figures. Holding an 18-17 edge, Azusa Pacific pushed ahead by finishing the set on a 7-3 scoring spurt.
The final set completely belonged to the Cougars. As a team they had 10 kills with just one error as they recorded a .474 hitting percentage. Azusa Pacific never trailed in the final frame to complete the comeback.
