Azusa, Calif.-- Current PacWest leader Azusa Pacific claimed its fourteenth conference victory on Friday night after sweeping Academy of Art, 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-20) at home in the Felix Event Center.
The Cougars now has seventeen consecutive wins at home, which extends the program's longest home win streak in program history. After posting its fourth straight PacWest sweep, Azusa Pacific improves 20-4 on the season and 14-2 in conference play.
Several Cougars showed outstanding play against the Urban Knights. Freshman Annaka Jorgenson posted 12 kills and 7 digs to help lead the Cougars offensively, while Julianne Miller and Katarina Radisic tallied in 9 kills apiece. Teammates Aliyah Morrison and Sara Wagenveld each collected five kills and added four blocks apiece on the defensive side.
How It Happened:
In the opening set, both teams traded points early on and tied the score on eleven different occasions. With the score tied at 17-17, a kill by Radisic sparked Azusa Pacific's offense to a 8-1 run, which eventually led to a first-set victory.
In the second set, an early 7-1 run helped the Cougars jump out to a 11-5 lead. Azusa Pacific continued to increase its edge midway through the frame with another 7-1 run to extend its lead to a twelve-point margin. The Cougars never looked back and cruised their way to a 25-11 set victory.
Azusa Pacific finished off the sweep in the third set. Back-to-back kills from Jorgenson gave the Cougars their first lead in the final frame, 4-3. The Cougars never trailed for the remainder of the match, and grew a 9-7 lead into a 16-11 advantage midway through the set. Academy of Art rallied back and narrowed down the Cougars five-point lead to a three-point margin, but Azusa Pacific responded with three kills from Radisic. With the score at 24-20, Azusa Pacific closed out the match with a Morrison kill to seal its PacWest conference victory.
What's Next: The Cougars travel to rival Biola on Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. contest in the final match of the Cornerstone Cup Rivalry Series presented by West Coast Sand & Gravel.
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).
