AZUSA, Calif.-- The Cougars opened 2019 PacWest play with a Saturday afternoon victory, as Azusa Pacific defeated Point Loma in a three-set sweep (25-13, 25-17, 25-23). 

Multiple Cougars had impressive showings in the conference opener. Middle blocker Julianna Miller lead Azusa Pacific with eleven kills while teammate Annaka Jorgenson registered ten kills, seven digs, and four blocks. Sarah Wagenveld trailed right behind offensively, as she collected nine kills and seven blocks. Setter Mina Andjelkovic registered 24 assists, while freshman Maggie Nielsen finished with 16 assists. Defensively, Bailey Henington had a match-high 22 digs. 

Match Summary
In the opening set, an early scoring outburst proved to be a big difference for Azusa Pacific. The Cougars jumped out early with a 13-1 run over Point Loma and never looked back to close out the first set with a 25-13 win. Moving into the second set, Miller had the hot hand, as she recorded Azusa Pacific's first three points via three-straight kills. Azusa Pacific recorded 18 kills in the set, while holding the Sea Lions to only nine. The Cougars held a four point lead over Point Loma for most of the set, until Wagenveld put away a kill to seal Azusa Pacific's 25-17 second-set victory. 

During the third set, the Cougars claimed the first point with a Miller kill. Azusa Pacific was able to maintain a comfortable lead throughout most of the frame until the Sea Lions made a run towards the end of the set with back-to-back kills from Grace Hicks to cut the Cougar lead to 23-21. Azusa Pacific closed out the stanza with solid defense to seal a 25-23 win.

What's Next
Azusa Pacific, now 7-2 overall and 1-0 in the PacWest, will continue conference play as the Cougars hit the road for a quick two game trip to the Bay Area. Azusa Pacific will start with Friday evening meeting with Holy Names on September 27th and 6:00 p.m., followed by a matchup with Academy of Art the following day (Saturday, Sept. 28) at 3:00 p.m.