AZUSA, Calif. – A slow start doomed Hawai'i Pacific University early and a solid comeback attempt wasn't enough as Azusa Pacific picked up a 3-1 PacWest Conference win on Wednesday evening in the Felix Event Center.
The Sharks (3-8, 2-3) fell to the PacWest leading Cougars (10-4, 6-0) 17-25, 9-25, 25-21, 22-25.
"I am proud of the team continuing to work together to put together a complete match," said HPU head coach
Jenic Tumaneng. "The team showed good character tonight. We need to make every opportunity meaningful."
The Sharks posted .181 hitting percentage as a team, with 7.0 team blocks. APU responded by hitting .312 with 11.0 team blocks.
Junior
Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico notched her fifth double-double of the season in leading the Sharks with 13 kills to go with 12 digs and a team-leading .235 hitting percentage. Sophomore Camryn Collie of El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge and freshman
Nicole Ferris of Woodstock, Ga./Etowah both added 12 kills each. Senior
Carson Pyle of Houston, Texas/Memorial led the Sharks with six blocks, the third time she's done that this season.
Azusa Pacific was paced by Sara Wagenveld with 13 kills and a match-high seven blocks, while Katrina Radisic added 12 kills. Julianne Miller posted 10 kills and led the team with a .529 hitting percentage.
APU used a 6-1 run early in the first set to gain a comfortable lead and held on for a 25-17 win. Then the Cougars opened the second set with a 7-1 run and extended it to a 15-3 start on the way to a 25-9 triumph.
The Sharks came back in the third set using a 5-0 run to establish a lead and later added a 4-0 run with kills from Pyle, Ferris and Collie to withstand a Cougar charge. An Escobar kill gave the Sharks a 25-21 set win.
The fourth set was a battle with the Sharks building a 17-15 lead before APU went on a late 6-0 run to take a 21-17 lead and held on before Miller ended the match with a kill to give the Cougars a 25-22 set win.
The Sharks don't have much time to dwell on the loss as they travel south to San Diego for Thursday's contest at Point Loma. The match starts at 4 p.m. HST (7 p.m. PDT) at Golden Gym.
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