SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The Cougars finished a perfect road trip to Northern California, sweeping Academy of Art by a score of 25-14, 25-21, 25-11 Wednesday afternoon inside the Walter Gleason Gymnasium. It was the third straight day in which Azusa Pacific had recorded a three-set road victory, having already dispatched of both Holy Names and Dominican earlier on this road trip.
How It Happened: The game was played on the campus of Notre Dame de Namur, a former member of the PacWest. After spotting the Urban Knights the first two points of the match, the Cougars sprung to life, taking control of the set with an 11-2 run and never looking back. The front row stymied the Academy of Art attack, collecting six blocks in the opening set as the lead would swell to as much as 13 before a service error finished off the set, 25-14.
Academy of Art would offer a stiffer challenge in the second frame, as the set would be tied on nine occasions, with the Urban Knights attack aided by six Cougar service errors. But Azusa Pacific would put together a 5-2 run to finish off the second. Annaka Jorgenson had five kills to lead the way in the set for the Cougars, who put up 15 as a team.
Azusa Pacific would improve on that in the final frame, adding 16 kills in the third while hitting a blistering .433 as they opened with a 10-2 run and kept pouring the offense on. Kaitlin Craig had five kills of her own in the third as the team completed the sweep, taking their ninth consecutive set in just under 48 hours.
Inside the Numbers: The Cougars hit .344 for the match, racking up 41 kills as a team. Jorgenson had a team high 11 for the match, while Craig and Katarina Radisic each had 10. Kyra Palmbush was involved in all six first-set blocks, and the team finished the evening with 10. Hailey Patino led the back row with 10 digs, while the team ended up with four aces. This was the Cougars' ninth win in a row over the Urban Knights dating back to 2017, with eight of the nine coming by straight sets. All 11 of the Cougars' wins this season have come in straight sets.
Up Next: The Cougars (11-8, 7-3 PacWest) now come home and have a week to recover before hosting Fresno Pacific on October 14th. First serve in the Felix Event Center is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. If you are unable to make it to the Event Center, the game can be livestreamed HERE.
