AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific celebrated its seniors in style, as Natalie Klapp, Danika Young, and Kaylen Higa became the first senior class in program history to walk off the court in their final home match as conference champions.
The Cougars cruised to a 25-15, 25-10, 25-16 sweep over Notre Dame de Namur, securing the outright Pacific West Conference championship and a second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance next week after closing out the regular season with eight consecutive victories.
Klapp recorded a match-high 13 digs and put away eight kills, while Higa helped orchestrate another balanced attack with four Azusa Pacific players registering at least eight kills while producing a .327 team attack percentage in the match. However, Young stole the show with a late appearance in the third set in her only appearance of a season lost due to injury. Young played the final three points of the match, serving twice to get the Cougars to match point and finishing her career on the floor of the PacWest-clinching victory.
"This is all about the team and the culture they've created," Azusa Pacific head coach Chris Keife said. "Three years ago, this group told me they were going to win the conference in their senior year, and for them to say that and then go out and achieve it shows a lot of the responsibility they carried. All three seniors have showed great leadership and maturity. Their dedication and loyalty to the team has made this team a very easy group to coach. Because of them, our program was able to reach new heights."
Azusa Pacific was dominant in all three sets, starting with a 12-3 run to close out the first set. Sophomore opposite Amy Hinnant posted her second consecutive match without an attack error and started things off with four kills on five attempts in the victorious opening set. Freshman outside hitter Katarina Radisic also had four kills to get things started in the first set.
In the second set, Radisic served two aces early on to help the Cougars jump out to a 7-1 lead, and the Cougars never looked back in a 25-10 win. Radisic had four more kills in the set while Klapp and junior middle blocker Julianne Miller each had three kills in the set.
In the third set, Miller notched five kills while Klapp had four kills. The Cougars stretched their lead from 11-8 to 22-11 with an 11-3 run before eventually closing out the three-set sweep with a 25-16 win.
Azusa Pacific wraps up its first conference championship in program history with a 20-2 PacWest mark, finishing a game ahead of runner-up Biola. The Cougars conclude the regular season with a 24-6 overall record and take an eight-match winning streak into next week's NCAA Division II Volleyball National Championship West Regional tournament. The regional tournament seedings and matchups will be announced Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. Pacific time on ncaa.com.
