AZUSA, Calif. -- In the highest-stakes matchup to date in the brief history of the Cornerstone Cup rivalry series, Azusa Pacific seized first place in the Pacific West Conference volleyball standings from Biola with a four-set victory (25-17, 29-27, 16-25, 26-24) over the Eagles.
In addition to reclaiming the PacWest lead, Azusa Pacific avenged a five-set defeat in its visit to Biola earlier this month, and the Cougars did so in a strikingly similar start by winning the first two sets as it had also done in the Oct. 3 visit to Biola. The Eagles won the third set, but in a fourth set featuring 13 ties and a pair of lead changes, the Cougars reeled off six straight points to take a 14-8 lead and never trailed again. Although Biola battled back to tie the set five more times, Azusa Pacific answered every Eagle challenge before finishing off the match with back-to-back kills from freshman outside hitter Katarina Radisic.
"We had a lot more heart and grit than the last time we played them," said junior middle blocker Julianne Miller, who was one of three Cougars with double-digit kills with an 11-kill, 4-block performance. "Before the fourth set, we got together and said we weren't going to repeat history. We buckled back down and fought it out against a great opponent."
With the win, the Cougars improved to 18-6 overall and 14-2 in PacWest play, while Biola dropped to 18-6 and now a half-game back in the conference standings at 14-3.
Tuesday's match concluded the season series with a split for the second consecutive year. As a result, the Cornerstone Cup presented by West Coast Sand & Gravel begins with a 5-5 tie heading into a men's and women's soccer doubleheader between the schools in La Mirada on Saturday, Oct. 27.
MATCH SUMMARY
Azusa Pacific started fast with an impressive 25-17 opening-set win, as the Cougars registered a match-high .300 attack percentage in the set and registered four of its eight team blocks. After trailing 7-5, an Amy Hinnant kill was followed by a service ace from Sara Wagenveld to spark a 14-4 run that gave the Cougars a 19-11 lead.
In the second set, Aliyah Morrison registered back-to-back kills which gave Azusa Pacific a commanding 17-9 edge, but Biola answered with four straight and eventually fought off three set points to come all the way back and tie the set at 24-24. The Eagles had set-point opportunities of their own at 25-24 and 26-25, but Radisic answered the first with a kill and Natalie Klapp's solo block tied the set at 26-26. After Julianne Miller and Sierra Bauder traded kills to push the score to 27-27, Klapp put away a kill before Chase Davis finished off the set with a service ace for the 29-27 win.
The Cougars slumped in the third set, hitting for a negative attack percentage as Biola pulled away from a one-point margin (14-13) with an 11-3 run to close out the set by a 25-16 margin. Over half of the Eagles' points came from Azusa Pacific errors, as the Cougars committed eight attack errors and five service errors in the set.
Neither team led by more than a point in the fourth set until Miller sparked a 6-0 run to break an 8-8 tie, giving Azusa Pacific the upper hand heading down the stretch. Biola responded with a 10-4 run to tie the set at 18-18, but the Eagles never regained the lead, as Miller, Morrison, and Klapp each had tiebreaking kills before Radisic wrapped up the match with back-to-back kills for the 26-24 win. Radisic had five kills in the set, while Miller, Morrison, and Klapp each notched four kills without an error in the final set.
STAT LEADERS
Klapp and Radisic each recorded double-doubles, with Klapp collecting a team-high 15 kills with 12 digs while Radisic notched 12 kills and 14 digs. Sophomore libero Sophia Newhouse had a career-high 23 digs, including 10 digs in the final set alone, and Kaylen Higa finished in double figures in digs with 10. Miller had 11 kills with a team-high four blocks, and Morrison added nine kills.
Biola was led by Christina DenBoer's match-high 17 kills to go with 11 digs, and Sierra Bauder tallied 12 kills with a match-high five blocks. Karly Dantuma also had double-digit kills (11), and the Eagles' libero Sami Hover was the match digs leader with 28 for her 10th 20-dig performance of the season.
WHAT IT MEANS
Tuesday's clash for the PacWest lead was the first of several challenging matchups for Azusa Pacific over the final weeks of the regular season, as the Cougars pursue the program's first PacWest volleyball title. Four other teams sit within two games of Azusa Pacific, which has to face two of those teams on the road during a challenging three-match road trip to Hawai'i next week.
UP NEXT
Azusa Pacific remains in Southern California for a Friday night visit to Irvine to take on Concordia, with the three-match Hawai'i road trip looming next week. The Cougars finish at home on the final regular-season weekend, hosting Dominican (Nov. 9) and Notre Dame de Namur (Nov. 10).
QUOTABLE
"I don't know if there was a single play that changed things for us in the fourth set, but there was a conscious shift where we were just fed up. We were fed up with being fed up, and we wanted to push past this wall we built and break it down. I don't know if that happened in a single play, but I could look around and see in everyone's eyes that we were all bought in. Even though it was close, we had a sense of confidence that we had it." -- Julianne Miller
"It only takes a few players to look at each other and decide to lead the group for everyone to buy in together, and it's the greatest feeling when that happens because you just know you're going to win at that point. I've always respected Biola, and every time we've played them at home is a special memory for me. I love playing with this team, and I'm trying to make every moment count with them." -- Natalie Klapp
"Statistically, this match was pretty even across the board. It was a gritty battle on both sides, and it was emotional. Last time we played them and won the first two sets, we didn't battle back when they challenged us, and what I liked seeing tonight was how we responded when they pushed us. Julianne did a great job in the fourth set to inspire her team as a vocal and emotional leader, and Natalie did a great job overall to sustain a high level in every aspect of the game." -- Head Coach Chris Keife
ABOUT THE CORNERSTONE CUP
The Cornerstone Cup is awarded annually to the athletic program with the most success in head-to-head matchups between Azusa Pacific and Biola throughout the year. A total of 140 points are awarded, with 10 points per sport going to the winner of the most head-to-head contests in each team sport or the higher-finishing team in conference championship competition for individual sports (cross country, track and field, swimming and diving).
Last Year: Azusa Pacific claimed the inaugural Cornerstone Cup trophy by a score of 95-45 last year, although Biola started the year strong with a 40-10 scoring edge through the 2017 fall sports season.
This Year:The season split in volleyball results in a 5-5 tie to start the 2018-19 competition for the Cornerstone Cup rivalry trophy. The remaining 40 points for fall sports will be awarded in a seven-day span, starting with 10 points in each game of Saturday's men's and women's soccer doubleheader in La Mirada before the men's and women's cross country teams go head-to-head at the Pacific West Conference Cross Country Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno on Friday, Nov. 2.
