AZUSA, Calif. — The minute her family lifted a great big poster head of Kendyl MacAskill during team introductions, it was inevitable that she would have a great game. And special it was as MacAskill recorded a career-high 20 kills, leading Azusa Pacific to a 3-1 victory over Academy of Art.

Although Azusa Pacific dropped the first set 22-25, the Cougars rallied to defeat the Urban Knights 25-19, 25-23, then a whopping 25-10 in the final set. The win marked Azusa Pacific's 13th consecutive victory over Academy of Art, extending their undefeated streak in the series since 2016.

How it Happened: Early in the first set, the Urban Knights went on a five-point scoring run, which proved to be the difference. The Cougars were able to tie the score multiple times and even took exchanged leads at various points, but they were unable to close out the set. Despite holding a 22-21 advantage, Azusa Pacific saw Academy of Art score the next four consecutive points to take the first set 25-22.

In the following set, MacAskill led the team with eight kills to led the team to a 25-19 win. The Cougars seemingly found their groove on offense, improving their hitting percentage from .150 in the first set to an impressive .483 in the second set, while committing just one error.

In the third set, Academy of Art jumped out to an early 6-3 lead, but the Cougars quickly responded with a five-point run, highlighted by three kills from Wilson. Although Azusa Pacific never surrendered the lead, the Urban Knights fought back to tie the set at 23-23. Both teams were firing on all cylinders, hitting above .400, but the Cougars stayed composed down the stretch. Wilson's eight kills in the set was a key factor in Azusa Pacific eventual 25-23 win.

In the fourth set, Azusa Pacific pulled away early with a 7-1 scoring run, leading 8-4. They continued to build on that momentum, with Wilson adding three kills in four points to stretch the lead to 12-9. The Cougars finished strong, going on a 13-1 run to close out the set 25-10 and seal the 3-1 match victory.

By the Numbers: Across four sets, Azusa Pacific finished with a season-best .359 hitting percentage, improving upon the team's .319 average last week against Hawai'i Pacific. The Cougars also finished with a cumulative 11 blocks, their third-most this season. Anya Green led the team with six blocks and her 110 blocks across the season currently leads the PacWest Conference. Sarah Wilson also tagged on 17 kills herself, nearly tying her career-best of 18 kills twice this season.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will close out its 2024 season with a final game tomorrow afternoon, honoring seniors Brooke Bunker, Anya Green, and Delaney Tate. The Cougars will face Fresno Pacific at 1:00 p.m. in the Felix Event Center as they look to close out the season. The match will also be available to stream on the PacWest Network.