HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University saw its five-match winning streak snapped as Azusa Pacific swept the Sharks in three sets on Saturday night at The Shark Tank.
 
The Sharks (15-7, 11-3) fell to the Cougars (15-3, 9-1) 25-19, 25-14, 25-21 in the battle for the top of the PacWest race.
 
The Cougars trailed the Sharks only twice in the match, while there were six ties in the three sets. HPU kept close in each of the three sets, only to have the Cougars go on long runs.
 
HPU hit just .104 with six team blocks, while APU hit .267 with 10 team blocks.
 
HPU was led by senior Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico, who double-doubled with 16 kills and 10 digs while hitting .378 and adding two blocks. Junior Sierra Piester of Carlsbad, Calif./Tri-City Christian came off the bench with four kills on six attempts (a .667 attack percentage) and led the Sharks with three blocks.
 
The Cougars were paced by Annaka Jorgenson 11 kills with nine digs, while Aliyah Morrison hit .600 with 11 kills and racked up seven blocks. Katarina Radisic just missed a double-double with nine kills and nine digs.
 
After the Sharks scored the first point of the match, the Cougars responded with a 7-1 run that gave them a lead they wouldn't relinquish. HPU would come back to pull the set within three points, three times – the last at 20-17. But a Shark attack error took the pressure off the Cougars who claimed the first set 25-19.
 
The Sharks battled APU early in the second set, and after a kill by junior Cameryn Collie of El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge, trailed by two at 9-7 when APU struck again with an 8-0 run to take firm control of the set 17-7. The Sharks swapped scores with the Cougars, but Bailey Henington service ace that clipped the net and fell untouched gave APU a 25-14 win.
 
HPU and Azusa fought to an 8-8 open to the final set when the Cougars ripped off an 8-2 run that included a 6-0 stretch that put the Cougars up 18-10. The Sharks got a kill from senior libero Amanda Acosta of Exeter, Calif./Extra Union to start a 9-2 run of their own, pulling to within a point a 20-19 on a service ace by sophomore Lauren Christie of Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon.
 
That's when the Cougars got a kill from Jorgenson to start a 3-0 run and the teams traded points before APU took the 25-21 win.
 
The Sharks are idle until next Saturday when they host Hawai'i Hilo in a battle for third in the PacWest. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at The Shark Tank.