FRESNO, Calif. -- Entering Friday night's road match at Fresno Pacific, Bailey Henington needed 13 digs to tie, and 14 digs to surpass Robin Portela's school-record of 2,318 digs (2008-11). Early in the second set, Henington would record her 13th dig of the night, and a few moments later, she picked up her 14th to move into sole possession of the top spot in the record books. 

"Bailey is one of the best players I have coached," said head coach Chris Keife, "There are few athletes that I have come across that are as competitive and driven as she is. She had to overcome many injuries throughout her career, and she never gave up or surrendered."

Since she first stepped on campus as a freshman, Henington has been a key contributor for the Cougars, recording 500 or more digs in every season she has played, excluding the 2021 COVID-abbreviated spring season. Following two full seasons in 2016 and 2017, Henington missed all of 2018 due to an injury. Not only would she return in 2019, but she accumulated 697 digs over the Cougars' 33 matches, which set the PacWest record for most digs in a season. 

"She is the epitome of everything that we want this program to be about," said Keife, "And it is an honor to coach her. I could not be more proud of Bailey for this accomplishment."

In addition to becoming Azusa Pacific's all-time digs leader, she is just seven shy of breaking the PacWest record.

Not only did Friday evening consist of Henington's record-breaking performance, but Azusa Pacific put together a rather dominant match to claim the road victory. Three Cougars had double-digit kills, led by 13 from Kyra Palmbush (.542 hitting percentage on 24 attempts), followed by Annaka Jorgenson's 12 and 11 from Katarina Radisic. Palmbush also had a total of six blocks, including one solo. Mina Andjelkovic and Maggie Nielsen had 18 assists apiece. Jorgenson racked up a season-high 20 digs in the match.

How it Happened: Azusa Pacific wasted no time establishing itself in the first set, utilizing five kills and five Sunbird attack errors to grab a 10-1 lead. The Cougars lead fell no lower than seven points throughout the set, and with the score at 13-6, Azusa Pacific took 12 of the next 14 points to claim the set 25-8. In the first set, the Cougars had a hitting percentage of .279 with 15 kills on 43 attempts, while Fresno Pacific had more attack errors (8) than kills (4) in the opening frame. 

Set two was the most competitive of the night, with five lead changes and nine ties. The biggest deficit the Cougars faced was early on at 3-7, and the latest Azusa Pacific trailed was 17-18. The Cougars would tie the set at 18 on a Jorgenson kill, and a Sunbird error would give the visitors a 19-18 lead. While Fresno Pacific tied it back up at 19-19, the Cougars would score three unanswered to take the lead for good in the set, and eventually secure the 2-0 match lead on a Jorgenson kill that closed out the second at 25-21.

Fresno Pacific took a 4-0 lead to open the third set, but the momentum would be short-lived for the Sunbirds, as Azusa Pacific responded with a 7-0 run to leap ahead 7-4. The run started with a kill from Radisic, and was capped off with a Palmbush kill. Radisic also delivered two service aces in the segment. The Cougars would steadily create separation from the Sunbirds, eventually taking a 16-6 lead. Fresno Pacific would trim the margin down to six at 17-11, and then to five at 18-13, but the Cougars would not allow it to get any closer. Palmbush's 13th kill of the night made it 24-15, and then Jorgenson closed out the match with her 12th kill.  

By the Numbers: The clearest discrepancy between the two sides in the final box score was a Cougar hitting percentage of .248, compared to -.007 for Fresno Pacific. Azusa Pacific racked up 46 kills, while Fresno Pacific had 22 attack errors and just 21 kills. The Cougars also posted advantages in digs (82-68) and blocks (8-5). For the second-consecutive match, Azusa Pacific did not commit a ball handling error.