AZUSA, Calif. – It was worth the wait.

After 12 matches away from the home confines, Azusa Pacific started home play with an exciting 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-18, 28-26) win against Chaminade.

In posting the four-set win, the Cougars won their fourth PacWest home opener in five tries. Azusa Pacific improves their overall record to 6-7 while leveling their conference mark at 2-2.

Julianne Miller had a team high 11 kills while tallying six block assists. Aliyah Morrison went for 10 kills to round out the double figure kill producers for the home team.

Post Match Interview with Julianne Miller

On the back row Bailey Hennington notched 22 digs while Natalie Klapp had a fantastic defensive effort from the outside hitter spot with 13 digs.

In the opening set, Chaminade broke open a 13-13 tie with an 8-2 scoring spurt to grab control and never look back. Using the home crowd to their advantage, Azusa Pacific reserved course in the next set. With the second frame knotted at 15-15, the Cougars inched ahead by scoring six of the next seven points to aid in their win.

During the third set victory, Azusa Pacific played well enough with 12 kills and a .136 team hitting mark. Chaminade was their own worst enemy as they committed eight attack errors and four service errors in the set.

Looking to end the contest in four sets, the Cougars lost the first six points and were forced to call a timeout. The home team chipped away at their deficit and eventually took the lead at 12-11. From that point forward it was nip-and-tuck. Azusa Pacific took a seemingly comfortable 22-18 edge but the Swords fought back and eventually squeaked out a set point. However, the Cougars thwarted that effort and eventually won on their third set point when Aliyah Morrison hit a beautiful serve down the right side line.

PacWest Facebook video of match point