FRESNO, Calif. - It is never easy to win a conference contest on the road, and on Friday afternoon, the Cougars were able to battle their way to their third-consecutive PacWest win, with each of their last two victories requiring five sets of play. Azusa Pacific is now 10-8 overall, and 7-3 in PacWest play.

Kendyl Macaskill and Kyra Palmbush made the most of their opportunities in the Cougar attack, with each player finishing with 11 kills on hitting percentages above .450. Macaskill finished with a hitting percentage of .476 over 21 attempts, while Palmbush had 22 attempts and finished at .455. Palmbush was also dominant at the net defensively, as she tallied a season-high three solo blocks and four block assists. Jaela Bernard also had three solo blocks in the match, which is a career-high performance. Brooke Bunker set a new season-high in assists with 29.

How It Happened: The Cougars found themselves in an early hole to start the match, after Fresno Pacific took the first set 25-18. Azusa Pacific wasted no time getting back in the match, as the visitors worked their way to a 17-7 lead in the second set, and the margin remained at seven or more for the remainder of the frame.

Fresno Pacific was in a comfortable position to regain the momentum of the match in the third set, as the Sunbirds held a late 20-14 advantage in the third set, however, the Cougars capitalized on kills from Bernard and Katelyn Sonnier, an Annaka Jorgenson service ace, and three errors by the hosts to roar back and tie the set at 20-20. While the Sunbirds would regain the lead momentarily at 21-20, a service error and consecutive attack errors by Fresno Pacific gave the lead back to the Cougars at 23-21, and a set error by the Sunbirds sealed the 25-23 set victory for Azusa Pacific.

Fresno Pacific was able to bounce back in the fourth for a 25-20 win to force a fifth set, but early in the deciding set, the Cougars flipped a 5-6 deficit into an 8-5 lead, and it was an advantage they would not surrender, eventually clinching the match with a 15-11 set victory.

By the Numbers: For the fifth time this season, Azusa Pacific reached double-digits in total blocks, finishing with 12 on the match. Offensively, the Cougars had a hitting percentage of .232. The Sunbirds committed 34 attack errors in the match, which is the season-high for a Cougar opponent this year. Azusa Pacific has now won 11 of the last 13 meetings between the two programs.

Up Next: The Cougars will be back on the road next week, with matches at Dominican (Thursday, Oct. 19) and Academy of Art (Friday, Oct. 20) on the horizon. Azusa Pacific beat both of those teams in September, defeating Academy of Art by a 3-1 score, and sweeping Dominican in Azusa.