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Kostoff, Brooklyn4 - 2026
Mick Wilson
3
Winner Azusa Pacific APU 17-0
0
Chapman Chap 5-6
Winner
Azusa Pacific APU
17-0
3
Final
0
Chapman Chap
5-6
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Azusa Pacific APU 28 25 25 (3)
Chapman Chap 26 21 21 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Cruising Along

ORANGE, Calif. - Azusa Pacific's unbeaten start survived one of its stiffest challenges yet Saturday afternoon, as the Cougars fought through a marathon opening set and then maintained control over the final two frames to sweep Chapman, 28-26, 25-21, 25-21, at Hutton Sports Center. The victory pushed the APU record on the season to 17-0, continuing a remarkable and record-setting opening run to the Cougars' 2026 season.

Senior Sarah Wilson powered the Azusa Pacific attack with a match-high 17 kills, while Jacey Loewen added 13 as the Cougars accumulated 47 kills over the 3 sets. Brooklyn Kostoff directed the offense with 28 assists, and Flora Sebestyen anchored the back row with 15 digs.

In a match tighter than the 3-0 final score suggests, Azusa Pacific's ability to win crucial points separated the Cougars from the Panthers.
Nowhere was that more apparent than in the opening set.

Chapman actually outhit APU .250 to .204 in the frame and committed only 4  attack errors compared with 10 for the Cougars. Azusa Pacific, however, generated 20 kills in the first set alone, survived a set-point to eventually take the back-and-forth the frame 28-26.

Escaping with that first set proved significant. Instead of allowing the Panthers to turn an extended opening frame into momentum on their home court, the Cougars settled in and became more efficient offensively.
APU hit a match-best.257 in the second set, recording 14 kills with only 5 errors in 35 attempts. Chapman countered with 15 kills but committed 8 attacking errors and hit .189, allowing the Cougars to build on their first-set victory with a 25-21 decision and take a commanding 2-set advantage.

Chapman again made the Cougars work in the third. Each team recorded 13 kills, and the Panthers held a .184-to-.130 advantage in hitting percentage. Neither team held a margin greater than 4 points, and Chapman used back-to-back scores to pull to winthin 2 at 23-21.  Nevertheless, Azusa Pacific again produced the points it needed late and closed out another 25-21 victory to finish the sweep.

The statistical totals underscored just how competitive the afternoon had been despite APU winning in straight sets. Chapman actually finished with the better attack percentage,.206 to .192, and doubled the Cougars' blocking total, 12-6. But APU held advantages in kills (47-42), assists (44-37) and, most notably, digs (60-46). The Cougars also served 3 aces while not allowing Chapman a single ace.

Wilson led the way offensively with her 17 kills and provided a strong all-around performance with 13 digs, giving her the tenth double-double on the season. Loewen supplied 13 kills, a team-best 4 blocks and 1 service ace, while Jackie Winfield contributed six kills. Taylor Klatt added three blocks.

Kostoff's 28 assists and 11 digs gave the Cougar setter a double-double of her own, while Hunter Kwan added 12 assists and 2 of APU's 3 service aces. Sebestyen's 15 digs led a Cougar defense that placed three players in double figures and finished with 14 more digs than Chapman.

For Chapman, Sasha Pugh led the offense with 14 kills, while Ava Bradbury collected 11 kills and was a formidable presence at the net with 7 blocks. Aaliyah Sanders had 5 kills and 5 blocks, and Clara Cronin finished with a match-high 16 digs. Sammy Chambers and Kelsey Magley each distributed 17 assists.

The sweep marks the renewal of a series with considerable history but a lengthy interruption. Azusa Pacific and Chapman had not played one another in women's volleyball since Sept. 15, 1989, a gap of more than 37 years. Saturday's win improved APU to 9-6 all-time against Chapman and was the Cougars' first victory against the Panthers since 1982. It was also APU's first straight-set victory over Chapman since Oct. 3, 1978, when the Cougars also won in Orange.

More important in the present, Azusa Pacific continues to negotiate its first season in the NCAA Division III landscape without a blemish. The Cougars arrived in Orange already riding the momentum of victories over future SCIAC foes Occidental, Redlands and Whittier.

For Chapman, Saturday's loss dropped the Panthers to 5-6 overall.

Azusa Pacific now faces perhaps its most significant test of the young SCIAC season. The Cougars return to the Felix Event Center Tuesday, Oct. 6, to face Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 7 p.m. CMS is one of the SCIAC programs that reached the NCAA Division III postseason a year ago and was identified before the season as one of the marquee home matches on APU's inaugural Division III-era schedule.

Saturday, however, belonged to an APU team that continued to find different ways to protect its perfect record. The Cougars didn't enjoy their most efficient attacking afternoon and were decisively out-blocked, but they won the extended first set, defended at a high level and executed well enough in the decisive moments of all 3 sets.

Seventeen matches into the season, no opponent has yet found a way to beat them.
 
 
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