Irvine, Calif - Azusa Pacific fell to Concordia 3-1 on the road Saturday to close out the 2021 season. This marks the end of four seniors' careers as Bailey Henington, Abby Hills, Mina Andjelkovic, and Cayla Broussard played their final match for Azusa Pacific. 

How it Happened: In the first set, the Cougars found themselves with an 11-6 lead, a lead that they never surrendered throughout the entirety of the set. Concordia tabbed a 3-point run to close the gap by a score of 18-15, but Azusa Pacific responded with two kills by Joregenson and a service ace by Henington to take a 24-18 lead. The Cougars ended the first set by a score of 25-19 with a kill by Jorgenson.

The Eagles responded in the second set taking a 6-4 lead before the Cougars tied it 6-6 with a powerful kill by Ionna Georgatzi, and eventually took an 8-7 lead with a kill from Hills. The set went back and forth for both teams with the lead constantly changing and the score remaining close for the entirety of the set. Concordia collected a 4-point run to end the set at 25-20. 

Azusa Pacific found themselves ahead in the third set 4-3, but Concordia tabbed a 7-point run to take a 10-4 advantage. The Cougars tied it at 11 a-piece with the help of an attack error, but the Eagles collected the next five points to go ahead 16-11, an advantage that they did not surrender for the rest of the set. Azusa Pacific pulled two points via a kill by Kyra Palmbush to close the lead 22-24, but Concordia ended up taking set 3 by a score of 25-22. 

The Eagles found themselves in control of the fourth set, as they had a 12-5 lead early on. The consistency for Concordia remained as they did not give up their lead for the remainder of the set and took the fourth set via a score of 25-15. 

By the Numbers: The Cougars were held to a .171 hitting percentage (50-for-164 with 22 errors), while Concordia hit .264 (62 for-163 with 19 errors). Jorgenson led the Cougars with 18 kills, and Maggie Nielsen collected 29 assists. In the service game, Jorgenson tabbed two aces, while Henington had one. Defensively, Henington led the way with 27 digs. 

Quotable: "The seniors have put their heart and souls into the program, from Cayla and Mina who have been here for two and a half years, to Abby, which is her fifth season with us, and Bailey who has been here for seven. They are loved by their teammates and they have done everything that we want great players to do." said Head Coach Chris Keife. 

The Cougars end the 2021 season with an 18-10 record (13-7 in PacWest play). Coach Keife will look to his returners to lead them into a successful 2022 season.