HILO, Hawai'i – The Cougars pushed things to the limit against Hawai'i Hilo but were unable to secure the elusive third set, falling to the Vulcans three sets to two (25-16, 24-26, 20-25, 25-14, 15-7) Thursday evening inside Vulcan Gymnasium.

How It Happened: The Vulcans conceded the opening point, but ran off the next four in a row and never allowed the Cougars within two the rest of the frame. Kendyl MacAskill had a team high four kills in the set for Azusa Pacific.

The Cougars to jump out to a 4-0 lead in the second set. While Hawai'i Hilo would fight back to tie the set at 8-8, another outburst of errors by the home team helped propel the Cougars to a 6-0 run. However, despite leading by as many as seven, the Cougars would be caught from behind at 24-24. The Cougars would pull the set out, though, as Anya Green provided the final kill to claim the second set, 26-24.

The momentum from that finish would carry over into the third, taking a small lead early on courtesy of a 6-1 run and holding that advantage the rest of the way. Azusa Pacific would enjoy its cleanest set of the night, racking up a .275 hitting percentage in the set. Sarah Wilson delivered the decisive blow for the Cougars with the team's 16th kill of the set as Azusa Pacific took a 2-1 lead on the night with a 25-20 margin in the third.

A 7-2 Vulcan run put Hawai'i Hilo in the driver's seat in the fourth set, which the Vulcans claimed 25-14. Then, with the decisive fifth set tied at 5-5, Hilo would win seven consecutive points to put the game away.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific (10-5, 6-2 PacWest) will look to salvage a split of their trip to the islands on Saturday when they visit Chaminade, who are currently ranked 10th in the nation. First serve against the Silverswords is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Hawaiian Standard Time (6:00 p.m. Pacific).