AZUSA, Calif. – On an overcast Saturday at the Felix Event Center, the Cougars were forced to work overtime on their final double shift of the regular season, surviving in five sets against Chapman before taking West Coast Baptist in straight sets for the second time this season.
GAME ONE: Azusa Pacific 3, Chapman 2 (25-20, 25-17, 20-25, 16-25, 19-17)
The first match was a tale of two matches in and of itself, as the Cougars dominated the early sets before the visiting Panthers came firing back. A 12-1 run midway through the opening set gave the Cougars a 19-15 advantage that they would not give up. While the second set would be closer in the early stages, a 10-3 finishing kick handed the home team a two sets to none lead.
Chapman was able to flip the script in the third, using an 8-1 run of their own to take control of the third and get on the board. The Panthers then raced out to a 12-3 advantage in the fourth. The Cougars would not get within six the rest of the set, sending the match to a decisive fifth set. While the Cougars opened up a three-point advantage multiple times, they just could not put Chapman away. Both teams squandered three match points in the final set before a pair of Panther errors gave the decisive points to Azusa Pacific.
Taylor Klatt led the Cougars with 18 kills in the contest, joined in double figures by Jackie Winfield with 16 and Jacey Loewen with 11. On the defensive side, libero Flora Sebestyen had 24 digs and 3 service aces, while middle blocker Mylah Niksa had a hand in 6 of the Cougars' 11 blocks.
GAME TWO: Azusa Pacific 3, West Coast Baptist 0 (25-12, 25-9, 25-13)
The Cougars broke the first set open with a 10-0 run and never looked back in taking down the Eagles for the second time this season. Azusa Pacific served five aces while splitting kills among five different players in a dominant effort to claim the opener. A similar second set run saw a lead go from 3-2 to 19-5 in short order, hitting an outstanding .538 over that span.
The third set saw the Cougars continue to pour it on, jumping out to an 11-2 lead. Victoria Miller took advantage of a spot start to pick up 7 kills and 3 of the team's 10 aces, while Brynja Martin had 8 kills and 6 digs. Taylor Klatt had a team-high 9 kills while her sister Riley added 6. Between the two matches, setter Brooklyn Kostoff handed out 45 assists.
Now 24-4 on the season (including 10-4 against SCIAC opposition), the Cougars head into the final week of the regular season against the two schools from Claremont. Up first is a visit to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, set for Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
