SAN MARCOS, Calif. – In their second match of the day, Azusa Pacific had no problem shutting out Cal State San Marcos, defeating the tournament hosts 3-0 on Saturday. The win avenged their earlier loss in five sets to Western Oregon, who remains undefeated.
In the teams' five meetings since 2012, Azusa Pacific has won four of them with the last win coming in 2021. Additionally, the win against Cal State San Marcos brought Azusa Pacific's overall record to 3-3 on the season as they move closer to opening PacWest play.
After finishing the first game of the day with a season-best 19 kills,
Delaney Tate once again led the Cougars posting 15 kills against Cal State San Marcos, including seven coming in the first set alone. Additionally, Tate currently ranks second in the PacWest Conference with 86 kills this season and averages 3.74 kills per set.
Trinitee Carroll and
Brooklyn Kostoff split setting duties without making a single error. On the receiving end,
Kendyl MacAskill also contributed seven kills without an error, finishing with a season-best .467 hitting percentage.
How it Happened: Tate began the match with two monstrous strikes, sparking a five-point run and giving the Cougars an early 8-1 lead. Three consecutive attack errors from Cal State San Marcos extended the lead to 13-4, and back-to-back kills from
Sarah Wilson and Tate pushed it to an 11-point advantage.
Later in the set, Cal State San Marcos mounted a comeback with a six-point run, but the Cougars countered with a 5-1 run, including three kills from MacAskill, to reach match point. San Marcos fought back with three straight kills but an attacking error ultimately secured the first set for Azusa Pacific.
In the second set, Cal State San Marcos took an early 7-4 lead, but the game remained tight with 11 ties throughout the set. In the last few points, Wilson had a critical kill to knot the game at 23-23. Then, Makalya Chiechi entered the game to deliver a service ace, and her first kill of the season to clinch the second set for the Cougars.
Similar to the second set, the third set saw 14 tied scores and seven lead changes. But once again, the match came down to the final points. Trailing 21-22, Azusa Pacific tied the score after Cal State San Marcos made a service error, giving the ball back to Carroll and the Cougars.
Azusa Pacific clinched the match as three consecutive attacking errors by Cal State San Marcos handed them the final three points.
By the Numbers: Azusa Pacific forced Cal State San Marcos to commit 23 errors across the three-set match meanwhile, the Cougars committed a season-low eight errors while hitting .252 overall, their second-best finish this season. Although Azusa Pacific led the entirety of the first set, the other two sets featured 25 tied scores and 11 lead changes which eventually fell in favor of the Cougars.
Up Next: The Cougars will conclude their trip to San Marcos with a final match against Cal State Monterey Bay at 3 p.m. After finishing the Cougar Classic, Azusa Pacific will begin PacWest play with an away game against new conference opponent Vanguard on September 20 at 5 p.m.
