SAN DIEGO, Calif. — After winning 13 straight sets en route to a 9-3 start to the season, Azusa Pacific's hot streak was snapped as the Cougars fell 0-3 to No. 20 Point Loma.
While Azusa Pacific still leads the all-time matchup 51-47, Point Loma has earned the last four wins. The Cougars now move to 4-1 in Conference play, moving to second in the PacWest behind the Sea Lions, who remain undefeated.
Delaney Tate was the only Cougar to finish in the double digits with 14 kills while
Mia Medrano had 18 digs.
Brooke Bunker and
Brooklyn Kostoff split setting duties, finishing with 15 apiece.
How It Happened: Point Loma started hot as expected, jumping out to a quick 9-4 lead before the Cougars began to put some pieces together. Four straight points for the Cougars later brought the score within one as the teams continued to trade points. However, the Sea Lions maintained their lead throughout the set earning a 25-22 win.
In the second set, the Sea Lions found themselves on a few different scoring runs gaining up to a 22-16 lead. The Cougars managed to put together a 7-2 scoring run to bring the score to 24-23 but a service error provided the Sea Lions with the 25-23 set win.
In the third set, the Cougars saw their first lead of the match however it was short lived as the Sea Lions managed to take a 13-9 lead. Azusa Pacific struggled to gain momentum earning just five kills to Point Loma's 20 strikes in the third set alone. While the Sea Lions' ten hitting errors kept the set close, Point Loma earned five of the last six points to win the set, 25-19.
By the Numbers: Azusa Pacific was held to a .198 hitting percentage across the three sets, their lowest finish since a five-set loss to Western Oregon on Sept. 13th. Meanwhile, Point Loma finished with a .260 hitting percentage. Although the Cougars finished with 12 errors, the most they've had in the last four games, the Sea Lions did commit 20 errors, including 10 in the final set.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific will return home for their next match on Saturday at 1 pm, as they are set to face Vanguard for the second time this season. The two teams faced off in Azusa Pacific's Conference Opener, winning 3-1 over the Lions just two weeks ago.
