SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Despite falling behind 2-0 against Westmont on Friday evening, the Azusa Pacific Cougars showed resilience and grit to battle back and eventually win in five sets. Annaka Jorgenson recorded 27 kills, and Abby Hills had a game-high hitting percentage of .450 (11-for-20). The duo of Maggie Nielsen and Mina Andjelkovic combined for 61 assists, with Nielsen finishing with 32 and Andjelkovic posting 29. Defensively, three Cougars had 15 or more digs, led by 30 from Bailey Henington, followed by 18 from Cayla Broussard and 15 by Jorgenson. At the net, Kyra Palmbush had seven total blocks, while Kaitlin Craig closed the contest out with six. Westmont entered Friday's meeting with a perfect 13-0 record.

How it Happened: Westmont made quick work of the Cougars in set one of the night, as the Warriors jumped out to a lead of 18-8 and Azusa Pacific was unable to get within eight points. Down 1-0, the Cougars began to settle in during the second set, but Westmont made a late 4-1 run to turn a 22-21 deficit into a 25-23 second set victory. 

With their backs against the wall, the Cougars dug in and fought in the third set. Neither team took a lead larger than three points, and the Warriors were able to hold a late 21-20 advantage. Azusa Pacific took the next three points, beginning with a kill from Jorgenson, followed by a kill from Palmbush, and then an attack error by the Warriors gave the Cougars a 23-21 lead. Westmont would respond, tying the game at 23-23. The Cougars scored the next point to make it 24-23, but the Warriors claimed two points to jump ahead 25-24 and serve with match point. After the Cougars fended off defeat by way of an attack error from the Warriors, the two sides battled for the next few points with neither able to close out the set, and the score was locked at 28-28. It was Azusa Pacific who eventually emerged victorious, as Jorgenson delivered back-to-back kills to take the third set 30-28 and force a fourth set.

After neither team was able to grab control to open the fourth set, the score was tied at 17-17 when the Cougars were able to seize momentum. Azusa Pacific took three out of four points to grab a lead of 20-18, and it would not surrender the lead for the remainder of the set, eventually tying the match at 2-2 with a 25-22 victory in the fourth.

The fifth set proved to be an appropriate end to the hard-fought contest, as the two sides went back-and-forth in the winner-takes-all final frame. With Westmont leading 12-11, a Warrior attack error tied the game at 12-12, and then kills from Jorgenson and Hills put the Cougars in position to complete the comeback by holding a 14-12 advantage. The Warriors would not go quietly, scoring two consecutive points to tie it at 14-14. After the teams traded the next four points, it was all locked up at 16-16 when Palmbush put one away on the Warriors' side to make it 17-16, and then an error by Westmont capped off the comeback for the Cougars with an 18-16 final score in the fifth.

By the Numbers: Both sides finished below .200 in hitting percentage, as the Cougars were .192 (73-for-224 with 30 errors), while Westmont finished at .173 (65-for-208 with 29 errors). In the fifth and final set, the Warriors had a costly 10 attack errors. Defensively, Azusa Pacific posted a 22-17 advantage in total blocks. 

Quotable: "It was a heck of a game with both teams playing high level volleyball, and it came down to who could sustain the longest. We settled in after the first set, and we were resilient and played in control." - Azusa Pacific head coach Chris Keife