Honolulu, Hawai'i -- Azusa Pacific closed out day two of its four-day road trip to the Hawaiin islands with a 3-0 victory Saturday night against Hawai'i Pacific (25-19, 25-14, 25-21). The Cougars improved their record to 16-3 overall and 10-1 in conference play, while the Sharks dropped to 15-7 overall and 11-3 in the PacWest.
Senior Aliyah Morrison dominated on both ends of the court, finishing with 11 kills and 7 blocks, in which four of the blocks came in the second set of the night. Morrison led the Cougars with a .600 hitting percentage. Freshman Annaka Jorgenson recorded 11 kills, 9 digs, and two blocks while sophomore Katarina Radisic tallied nine kills and nine digs. Julianne Miller finished with eight kills, four digs, and three blocks, and Bailey Henington contributed 25 digs defensively.
How It Happened:
Azusa Pacific jumped out early on the Sharks, with a kill from Radisic before Miller followed behind with two more herslef to help send the Cougars to an early 7-2 lead in the first frame. The Sharks were never able to recover as the Cougars led for all of the remaining set with a consistent four-point lead. Azusa Pacific grabbed a 1-0 match lead when Wagenveld closed out the set with a kill.
Heading into the second set, Azusa Pacific remained dominant with a .325 hitting percentage while holding the Sharks to a percentagae as low as .023. The two teams battled in the beginning exchanging early points until two kills from Miller and two attack errors by the Sharks advanced the Cougars to a six-point lead, at 13-7. Azusa Pacific used a set-closing run of 5-2 in which two of those points came via kills from Jorgenson.
In the closing set, Jorgenson and Miller came out with the hot hand to to give the Cougars the first two points of the set. Jorgenson continued to perform well for the Cougars throughout the set, as she grabbed six of her eleven kills in the frame to help extend the Cougar's lead up to 23-20. Azusa Pacific closed out the match with two errors from the Sharks to secure its tenth conference victory.
What's Next:
Azusa Pacific will return to action Monday, October 27 for its third and final game in Hawai'i at Hawai'i Hilo for a 4:00 p.m. (HST) matchup.
