NAMPA, Idaho – Azusa Pacific fell in straight-sets on the road at Northwest Nazarene on Friday afternoon, which gives the Cougars a 2-1 record on the young season.

Delaney Dunham recorded eight kills with a .462 hitting percentage, and Kaitlin Craig also notched eight kills. Aubrea Banfield had 19 assists and 11 digs, while Selena Balderas tallied a team-high 13 digs. 

How It Happened: The first set was a competitive affair, with the lead changing four times, while the two sides were tied on 11 occasions. With the score locked at 21-21, the Nighthawks would rattle off four straight points to claim a 25-21 set win and grab the upperhand heading into the second set. 

After an early 4-3 lead for the Cougars in the second set, Northwest Nazarene went on a 6-0 run to jump out to a 9-4 advantage. While the Cougars would get within a point at 12-11, the Nighthawks would maintain the lead through the remainder of the set, winning once again by a 25-21 tally to take the 2-0 match lead.

Much like the first set, the two sides were locked in a back-and-forth battle, as there were a total of nine ties in the frame. The Nighthawks were serving match-point at 24-22, but the Cougars would not go easily, as they took the next three points to force a match point situation of their own at 25-24. Northwest Nazarene would respond with three consecutive kills to clinch the match with a 27-25 third set triumph.

By The Numbers: Neither team could find much rhythm offensively, as each team committed 20 attack errors in the match. The Cougars finished with a hitting percentage of just 10%, while the Nighthawks landed at 21%. Azusa Pacific averaged 19.3 digs per set, which is the Cougars' best number of the weekend thus far. Northwest Nazarene controlled the net for much of the match, finishing with 16 block assists, compared to just six by the Cougars.

Up Next: The Cougars wrap up the Northwest Nazarene Invitational this afternoon with a match against Emory & Henry at 4:30 pm MT (3:30 pm PT). Emory & Henry enters the match with an 0-1 record, as it dropped its match this morning against Texas A&M International. To watch the match live, click here, and to follow the live stats, head to this link.