POMONA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific bounced back from a first set defeat to win the next three, claiming a 3-1 victory over Cal State San Marcos on Friday afternoon at the SoCal Freeway Challenge in Pomona. The win is Azusa Pacific's third-consecutive of the week, and the fourth victory of the young season (4-3).

Maggie Nielsen set the Azusa Pacific attack up all match long, racking up 28 assists without an error. On the receiving end of many of Nielsen's assists was the duo of Katarina Radisic and Mina Andjelkovic. Radisic finished with a game-high 19 kills, while Andjelkovic tallied a career-high 10 kills on a .588 hitting percentage. Andjelkovic, who has primarily served as a setter for Azusa Pacific since her arrival in 2019, has seen extended action as an outside hitter over the past few games. Defensively, Delaney Dunham led the way with five block assists, and Kaitlin Craig posted four block assists. On the back line, Bailey Henington finished with 29 digs for a 7.25 dig per set clip. Henington also had four service aces throughout the contest. 

How it Happened: Azusa Pacific opened the match by taking the first three points for a 3-0 first set lead, but Cal State San Marcos would take 11 of the next 13 points to gain an 11-5 advantage. Later on in the first set, Azusa Pacific was able to work its way within two points at 17-15, but Cal State San Marcos would close out the set on a 8-1 run to grab the 1-0 match lead.

The second set opened with both teams trading the momentum, as neither side would take a lead greater than three points for most of the frame. The turning point in the second set came when Cal State San Marcos was up 16-15, but four Cal State San Marcos errors and a Radisic kill flipped the score into Azusa Pacific's advantage at 20-17. While Cal State San Marcos was able to cut the deficit down to just one on three occasions, Azusa Pacific would not surrender its lead over the remainder of the set. With the score 22-21, Azusa Pacific closed out the set with an Andjelkovic kill, followed by a Henington ace, and a kill by Annaka Jorgenson for the final point made it 25-21.

Early in the third, it was Cal State San Marcos who opened with the lead. Cal State San Marcos held a lead as large as three, at 9-6, but Azusa Pacific received kills by Radisic on three consecutive sequences to draw even at nine. While the two sides traded the next three points to give CSUSM an 11-10 lead, Azusa Pacific would take six of the next seven points for a 16-12 advantage, and it would not trail again in the set. Over the remainder of the third, Cal State San Marcos would get as close as two points on two occasions, but Jorgenson would once again close the door for Azusa Pacific with a set-clinching kill to make it 25-21.

Azusa Pacific wasted no time building a lead in the fourth set, first pushing the margin up to 12-6, and then extending it to eight at 16-8. Nine points would be Azusa Pacific's largest lead of the fourth set, when a San Marcos attack error made it 22-13. Cal State San Marcos tried to make a late push by scoring four unanswered to trim its deficit down to 22-17, but the margin would be no closer than five and Azusa Pacific secured the match with a 25-18 fourth set triumph.

By the Numbers: While Azusa Pacific's final hitting percentage was .191, it was due in large part to the first set (.024 on 10 errors). After the opening frame, Azusa Pacific was above .200 for the final three sets, and had a match-high percentage of .257 in the second. Azusa Pacific did not have a ball handling error in the match, and it limited its service error number to just four. Azusa Pacific posted the final advantage in total blocks (8-6) and digs (84-73). Head coach Chris Keife, the all-time wins leader in program history, now sits at 378 career wins. 

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will close out the SoCal Freeway Challenge with a home match at 12:30 pm tomorrow against Westminster. Azusa Pacific is 2-0 all-time against Westminster, with the last meeting taking place in 2011. Admission to volleyball games at the Felix Event Center on Azusa Pacific's West campus is free, and if you cannot make it to the game, tune in for free on the Azusa Pacific Athletics Network.