IRVINE, Calif. - For the second time this season, Azusa Pacific outlasted Concordia in five sets to secure a PacWest victory, as the Cougars won on the road on Saturday (25-22, 18-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11). Azusa Pacific has now won 10 of its last 11 matches, and the Cougars improved their record to 17-9 overall, and 14-4 in PacWest play.
Annaka Jorgenson moved into third on the all-time career kills list in Azusa Pacific history, finishing with 13 in the match to raise her career total to 1,524 kills.
Maggie Nielsen, who surpassed 2,000 career assists and moved into eighth-all time in career assists in the Cougars' 3-0 win against Westmont on Thursday, turned in a team-high 20 assists tonight. Joining Jorgenson is double-digit kills were
Kendyl Macaskill and
Katelyn Sonnier, who each had 12. In the service game, Paige Johnston set a new career-high with six service aces. In addition to Johnstone's career best day, three Cougars recorded three service aces in the match (Jorgenson, Macaskill,
Brooke Bunker). At the net,
Jaela Bernard had six block assists, while Macaskill had a solo block and four block assists, and
Kyra Palmbush added four block assists.
How It Happened: The match followed the same script as the matchup between the two sides on October 10 in Azusa, as the Cougars won the first set before dropping the second and third sets. However, there was far more drama this time around.
Early in the fourth set, Azusa Pacific found itself with its back against the wall after the Golden Eagles went on a 9-0 run to take an 11-4 advantage, and later in the frame, the Cougars were facing a 21-14 deficit. Azusa Pacific would not fold, winning seven of the next eight points to get within one point at 22-21. A kill by Concordia's Kirra Schulz put the hosts up 23-21, but it turned out to be the Golden's Eagles final tally of the set, as the Cougars scored four straight points on a Concordia attack error, a service ace by Bernard, another Golden Eagle attack error, and then Palmbush delivered a set-winning kill to force a fifth and final set.
The Cougars would not squander the massive shift in momentum, as they opened up a quick 8-2 lead in the fifth set behind three-consecutive aces from Johnstone. From that point on, Azusa Pacific would maintain a lead of three or more points, and the match was secured by way of a Macaskill kill that made it 15-11. The kill was Macaskill's fourth of the set.
By the Numbers: The Cougars set a new season-high in service aces with 16. At the net, Azusa Pacific posted a 13-7 advantage in total blocks, while the Golden Eagles had 83 digs to the Cougars' 71. The Cougars' season sweep of the Golden Eagles snapped a five-match winning streak for Concordia, as they had been undefeated against Azusa Pacific since the 2021 season. Azusa Pacific now leads the all-time series record 41-31.
Up Next: There are just two matches left on the Cougar schedule, with a Senior Night matchup against Point Loma on Thursday, November 16 at 6:00 pm in Azusa. It will be the final home contest of the season for the Cougars, with the season finale set for Saturday, November 18 at 12:00 pm in the Cornerstone Cup against Biola down in La Mirada.
