AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific claimed its seventh-consecutive victory on Thursday evening, defeating visiting Holy Names in straight sets (25-21, 25-23, 25-11). The win improves the Cougars' record to 8-3 overall and 3-0 in PacWest play.
Annaka Jorgenson had 12 kills to lead the Cougars, and Katarina Radisic added nine. Mina Andjelkovic finished with 23 assists in the match. Defensively, Kyra Palmbush tallied four total blocks (three assists, one solo), and Bailey Henington picked up 17 digs.
How It Happened: The Cougars opened up the match with a first set win in which they did not trail at any point. The hosts took the first three points of the evening, and Holy Names would never cut the deficit down to less than two. Azusa Pacific held a late 22-17 lead when the Hawks made a brief 3-0 run to make it 22-20, but two errors and an Andjelkovic kill secured the Cougars' 1-0 match advantage.
In the second set, an uncharacteristic performance from the Cougars required a come-from-behind effort to eventually take a 2-0 match lead. Holy Names opened with a 5-0 lead, and it would maintain control up until the score sat at 15-11 in favor of the Hawks. It was at this point that the Cougars would start to flip the momentum of the set, as a kill from Abby Hills and Jorgenson, combined with a pair of Hawk attack errors, would tie the score at 15-15. While the Cougars' surge started to turn the tide, Holy Names was able to take the next two points to regain the lead briefly at 17-15. A Hills kill started a 4-0 run that flipped the two point deficit into a 19-17 advantage. The two sides battled over the next ten points, and the score was locked at 23 all. On the ensuing point, Annaka Jorgenson found some open floor on her attack, which gave the Cougars set point at 24-23, and a Holy Names attack error sealed the set win and a 2-0 match lead for the Cougars.
Azusa Pacific closed out the match with relative ease in the third set, which began with a 5-0 Cougar edge. The closest Holy Names would draw in the third set was four points, as Azusa Pacific used runs of three or more consecutive points on four different occasions to steadily grow its lead and put the match out of reach.
By the Numbers: The Cougars finished with a .263 hitting percentage, compared to a .102 percentage for Holy Names. The first set was Azusa Pacific's most efficient, as the Cougars had 16 kills and just three errors over 37 attempts for a .351 hitting percentage. The second set was the Cougars' least productive at .217 (15 kills with five errors over 46 attempts). Azusa Pacific posted advantages in digs (59-51), assists (39-31), blocks (7-6), kills (43-36), and points (51-43). In the service game, each team had one ace, and the Cougars committed just two errors while the Hawks had six.
Up Next: The Cougars are back on the court tomorrow, when they welcome Dominican to the Felix Event Center. The game time is currently TBA, however, it will start no earlier than 7:00 pm.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW - MINA ANDJELKOVIC & KYRA PALMBUSH
