AZUSA, Calif.  – Hawai'i Pacific University started strong but couldn't offset the powerful play of Azusa Pacific as the Sharks fell in straight sets 3-0 in PacWest Conference action Monday at the Felix Event Center.
 
The Sharks (7-16, 5-10) dropped their sixth straight as they opened a four-game California road trip the loss to the PacWest's second place Cougars (19-5, 12-4) 21-25, 7-25, and 16-25.
 
"We are working hard to put together a complete game," said Coach Jenic Tumaneng. "I was proud of our serving tonight, we just need to compete more on defense. We are competing against the top of the PacWest and we trust we'll rise to the challenge."
 
The Cougars hit .422 for the match, the third-best performance in the PacWest this season, to go with 9.0 blocks. HPU hit just .083 with three blocks and six service aces.
 
HPU sophomore Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico, just missed a double-digit kill night, leading the Sharks with nine kills, while freshman Camryn Collie of El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge, added eight kills. Junior Carson Pyle of Houston, Texas/Memorial, led HPU with two blocks.
 
Azusa Pacific's Sara Wagenveld was outstanding in leading the Cougars with 16 kills, a .619 hitting percentage and five blocks. Madison Ogas recorded 11 kills and hit .417, while Julianne Miller chipped in nine kills and three blocks with a .474 hitting percentage.
 
APU opened the first set with a 4-0 run and extended the lead to 9-2. Down 14-7, HPU made a comeback starting with an Escobar kill that put the Sharks on a 6-0 run to pull within a point at 14-13. The Cougars stretched the lead back to 19-16 and the Sharks roared back to tie the set at 19-all. After exchanging points for a 20-all score, the Cougars went on a 5-1 run to take the opening set 25-21.
 
The second set was all Azusa Pacific as the Cougars started with a 5-0 run and extended it to a 10-1 advantage. The Sharks managed back-to-back points only once in the set on kills by Pyle and senior Alyson Brunner of Willows, Calif./Willows, as HPU scored the fewest points in a set this season in falling 25-7.
 
The Sharks fought back in the third set early, holding the lead twice and forcing seven ties until 7-7. But the Cougars went on a 3-0 run and never trailed again. HPU kept it close and pulled back within two at 18-16 on a kill from junior Kayla Demari of Dana Point, Calif./JSerra Catholic. APU followed with a kill from Wagenveld that started a 7-0 run.
 
The Sharks are back in action for the second game of this southern California trip as they face undefeated PacWest Conference champion California Baptist on Wednesday night. First serve is set for 5 p.m. HST (7 p.m. PST).