AZUSA, Calif. – The highly anticipated rematch of the top team in the PacWest, Azusa Pacific, and the second-place team, Chaminade, was a four set battle. Azusa Pacific remains at the top spot, as it defeated the visiting Silverswords by a 3-1 final (25-14, 23-25, 25-23, 25-19).
The Cougars quickly captured the momentum in the match, as Azusa Pacific jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the first set. The deficit was too big for Chaminade to overcome, as the Silverswords were unable to draw any closer than seven points. The Cougars closed out the set by scoring five out of the final six points, with three points coming via kills by
Annaka Jorgenson.
Sara Wagenveld put set one away with a kill, assisted by
Maggie Nielsen.
The second set proved to be much more competitive, with the Silverswords eventually tying the match up at 1-1. With the Cougars holding a 12-10 lead, Chaminade took 10 of the next 14 points to grab a 20-16 advantage. Azusa Pacific would battle right back, winning three straight points.
Julianne Miller and
Aliyah Morrison each had a kill, and then a Chaminade attack error made it 20-19 Silverswords. Despite the late push, Chaminade held off the Cougars are took the set 25-23.
Both teams battled back and forth in the third set, as the two sides traded leads and fought to a 16-16 tie. From that point on, the Cougars took control of the set, as they scored nine of the next 12 points. Azusa Pacific put the third set away with a kill from Miller, and a service ace from
Katarina Radisic to post a 25-19 set win and a 2-1 match lead.
While the Cougars closed the match out in the fourth set, Chaminade opened with a 3-0 lead and held an advantage as late as 15-13. Azusa Pacific responded, rattling off five straight points to surge head 18-15. The Silverswords were unable to draw any closer than two points over the remainder of the set, and the Cougars closed out the match with a kill from Radisic and two Chaminade errors.
Azusa Pacific utilized a balanced offensive attack to secure the victory, as six different Cougars had eight or more kills. Morrison led the way with 12, followed by 10 kills from Miller and Jorgenson, nine kills by Wagenveld, and eight kills each from
Amy Hinnant and Radisic.
Mina Andjelkovic finished with 27 assists, and
Maggie Nielsen posted 19 assists. Defensively,
Bailey Henington finished with 25 digs and four different Cougars had three or more blocks. Wagenveld tallied five blocks, Morrison and Hinnant each had four, and Miller had three in the match.
The victory was a significant one for the Cougars, as Azusa Pacific maintains a one-game lead in the PacWest standings. Depending on Hawai'i Hilo's performance at Biola on Monday night, the Cougars could go from a victory over previously second-ranked Chaminade, to a meeting with the new second-place team in the conference. Azusa Pacific will welcome Hilo to the Felix Event Center on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 6:00 p.m.
