AZUSA, Calif. – The Cougars have gotten used to pulling double duty this season, completing their eighth doubleheader day of the 2026 season with a pair of sweeps, heading into Claremont to take down Pomona-Pitzer before coming home and repeating the 3-0 sweep against West Coast Baptist.
Game One: Azusa Pacific 3, Pomona-Pitzer 0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-14)
The host Sagehens were playing two games on the day themselves, and viewed this game as the chance to let their backups gain some experience. The Cougars took full advantage. After spotting the Sagehens four of the first five points, the Cougars took control of the opening set with a dominating 17-3 run, with major contributions from Brynja Martin and Mylah Niksa. After a run of errors allowed Pomona to close the gap to 18-13, the Cougars found their footing again and rattled off seven points in a row to take the set, including three kills from Jackie Winfield.
A similar, though smaller, 6-0 run gave Azusa Pacific some breathing room in the middle of the second, with consecutive blocks from Niksa giving the Cougars a 13-6 lead that they would never relinquish. The Cougars would lead by as many as 11 down the stretch in the set, with the sister duo of Jacey and Janelle Loewen combining for a block on set point.
To the extent any one stat stood out in the match, it was serving. The Cougars had six aces in the match (led by Flora Sebestyen with 3), while the Sagehens had nine service errors that gave the Cougars free points. Martin and Winfield each had seven kills to lead the Cougars on the day, while Sebestyen had 13 digs, joined in double figures by Mia Medrano with 10.
Game Two: Azusa Pacific 3, West Coast Baptist 0 (25-11, 25-10, 25-7)
The start of this game saw the Cougars give senior outside hitter Sarah Wilson a brief start to finish what she started Tuesday. Playing with an injured knee, Wilson stayed on the court for the first four points, just long enough to record the two kills she needed to reach 1,000 for her career, leaving to a standing ovation. After a brief back-and-forth that gave the visiting Eagles a brief 8-7 advantage, the Cougars pounced, going on an 18-3 run to finish the set and never looking back.
While Sebestyen and Medrano were both in the lineup, the Cougars used this game to let their reserves get in on the fun, with Martin leading the way with 8 kills in the match. Elayna Hess and Allie Hertzler combined to serve up 7 of the Cougars' 12 aces in the contest. Victoria Miller got the start at middle blocker and came through with 6 kills and 2.5 blocks (1 solo, 3 assists). The Cougars hit .273 for the match while forcing the Eagles into more errors than kills on the day.
Going back to the season finale against Dominican last season, Azusa Pacific (20-0) has now won 21 consecutive games, and have still dropped only seven sets all season. They will look to continue their run on Tuesday when they face La Verne. First serve at the Felix Event Center is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
