HONOLULU – The Azusa Pacific women's volleyball team probably wishes September wouldn't end.
The Cougars closed out the ninth month of the year with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-16) win against Chaminade to finish the last 30 days with a 13-1 record. The squad remains undefeated in their six PacWest matches.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Chaminade took an early lead but a persistent Cougar squad chipped away en route to an opening set win. A Julianne Miller kill gave Azusa Pacific an 18-17 lead and they never looked back. While the home team tied the score twice they never retook the advantage. The Cougars won five of the last seven points.
In the second frame the Cougars trailed once early (8-7) before taking the lead in a tightly contested frame. Azusa Pacific put their foot on the gas just past the stanza's midway point. Leading 15-13, the Cougars grew it to 21-15 as they took the commanding lead in the contest.
Despite losing the first point, the Cougars won the next two and never trailed again in the final set.
In each of the final two sets they had 12 kills on 26 attack attempts with just one error for a .426 hitting percentage. For the fourth time in the last six matches the Cougars hit .300 or better as team. On Saturday their .371 mark was the second best effort of the season.
QUOTEABLE: "We are handling the ball really well and making smart decisions," said head coach Chris Keife. "Our offense is playing at a very high level. And even for as well as we are playing, this group knows we can be better."
LOOKING AT THE PACWEST: Not quite a third of the way through conference play, the Cougars (6-0) and California Baptist (5-0) are the lone undefeated teams. A grouping of Chaminade, Notre Dame de Namur, Dixie State and Hawai'i Pacific all have two loses.
WINNING STREAK(S): The Cougars have won 11 sets in-a-row in helping them run their winning streak to eight straight matches. During the win streak, they have won 24 of their last 26 sets. Dating back to last season, Azusa Pacific has posted a victory in 19 of their last 20 matches.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
- Madison Ogas had a team best 13 kills from her outside hitter position
- Natalie Klapp contributed nine kills
- Bailey Henington registered a match high 18 digs
- Kaylen Higa (18 assists) and Shaylah Kagehiro (11) split a majority of the setting duties
UP NEXT: The Cougars return to the mainland and host Academy of Art on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 6:00 p.m.
