NAMPA, Idaho – Azusa Pacific wrapped up the Northwest Nazarene Invitational with its third straight-set victory of the week, as the Cougars defeated Emory & Henry (25-14, 25-19, 25-14) on Friday afternoon.
The Cougars utilized a balanced offensive attack, with seven players finishing with four or more kills, led by eight from Kendyl Macaskill. Jaela Bernard and Annaka Jorgenson added five kills each, while Katarina Radisic, Kaitlin Craig, Ioanna Georgatzi, and Kyra Palmbush all tallied four kills. Maggie Nielsen posted 12 assists, and Macaskill dished out 11 in the match. Defensively, Hailey Patino picked up a team-high nine digs, and fellow true freshman Kelsie Bothof added eight digs.
How It Happened: Azusa Pacific opened the match by taking full control of the first set, as it raced out to a 13-6 lead. The Wasps would get no closer than five points through the remainder of the set, and the Cougars closed the set out by winning five consecutive points.
Emory & Henry were able to get out to a 6-3 advantage in the second set, but a 9-3 run for Azusa Pacific would see it take a 12-9 lead. Emory & Henry would respond by scoring four unanswered to regain the lead (13-12), but the Cougars would roar right back with a four point streak of their own to regain control (16-13), and they would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the second.
The Cougars would never trail in the third set, and they used three runs of four or more unanswered points to clinch the match with ease.
By The Numbers: Azusa Pacific finished the match with nine service aces, led by three from Annaka Jorgenson. Patino also had a pair of service aces. For the third time this season, the Cougars did not commit a ball-handling error, and Azusa Pacific is a perfect 3-0 in those matches. The Cougars closed out the match with their best offensive set in the third, as they posted a hitting percentage of .333 with 11 kills and four errors on 21 attempts.
Up Next: Next weekend, the Cougars will travel to Denver for the prestigious Premier Challenge. Several teams that are ranked nationally in the preseason top-25 will be at the tournament, including No. 5 West Florida, who will be the Cougars' first opponent of the weekend. Azusa Pacific opens action on Friday, September 2, meeting West Florida at 11:00 am MT (10:00 am PT), followed by a match against Wayne State (Neb.) at 2:30 pm MT (1:30 pm PT). To visit the tournament central page for the Premier Challenge, click here.
