HONOLULU, Hawai'i - Azusa Pacific won two of its three matches out in Hawai'i this week, as the Cougars swept Hawai'i Pacific in straight sets on Saturday night (25-22, 25-21, 25-20). With the victory, Azusa Pacific is 14-12 overall, and 10-7 in conference action.
A balanced offensive attack for the Cougars was led by Kyra Palmbush, who finished with a match-high 13 kills on just 16 attempts (.813 hitting percentage), while also contributing a solo block and two block assists. Delaney Dunham made the most of her attack attempts, finishing with six kills on 11 attempts for a .455 hitting percentage. Aubrea Banfield finished with 20 assists, and Maggie Nielsen added 15 assists as well. Annaka Jorgenson and Hailey Patino recorded double digit digs, with Jorgenson finishing with 12 and Patino with 11.
How It Happened: After Azusa Pacific opened up the match by taking a 16-12 lead in the first set, the Sharks stormed back to take a 17-16 lead. With the score at 20-20, a Sharks attack error, followed by a kill from Katarina Radisic, put the Cougars up 22-20. While Hawai'i Pacific cut the margin to one on two occasions (22-21, 23-22), the Cougars would hold on to the lead and win the opening set on kills from Radisic (24-22) and Palmbush (25-22).
The Cougars were able to grab a 17-10 advantage in the second set, but a 9-0 run by the Sharks flipped the score to a 17-19 affair. With Hawai'i Pacific up 21-20, the Cougars scored five unanswered points to capture the set and go up 2-0 in the match. The second set was Azusa Pacific's most efficient offensively, with the Cougars finishing with 14 kills on 31 attempts (.258 hitting percentage). Palmbush led the way with five kills in the set, while Radisic and Dunham each had three in the frame.
Azusa Pacific closed out the match in the third set, winning the first five points to force the Sharks to take a time out. While the set was within one point on a few occasions, Azusa Pacific held the lead for the entirety of the set, taking a lead as large as six (20-14). Jorgenson delivered match point for the Cougars with her seventh kill of the match, which sealed the win at 25-20.
By the Numbers: The Cougars finished with a hitting percentage of .234 (38 kills on 94 attempts, with 16 errors), while Hawai'i Pacific posted a .101 percentage (35 kills on 109 attempts, with 24 errors). With the win, Azusa Pacific won its 10th PacWest match of the season, which continues the program's streak of reaching double digits in conference wins since 2004. The Cougars have now captured 12 of their 14 wins in straight-set fashion this season.
Up Next: With the regular season winding down, the Cougars are set to play their final three matches in southern California, starting with home contests against Academy of Art (Thursday, Nov. 3) and Concordia (Thursday, Nov. 10), before closing the schedule out at Point Loma (Saturday, Nov. 12).
