AZUSA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific clinched a share of the PacWest Conference Championship by sweepting Hawai'i Pacific University in straight sets Saturday afternoon at the Felix Event Center.
 
The Cougars (24-4, 18-2) beat the Sharks (17-11, 13-7) 25-23, 25-16, 25-21, handing the Sharks their fourth straight loss. APU extended its winning streak to eight straight.
 
HPU hit.128 for the match with four team blocks, while the Cougars hit .269 with nine team blocks.
 
The Sharks were led by the play of senior Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico with 12 kills. Sophomore Nicole Ferris of Woodstock, Ga./Etowah recorded nine kills and a .300 hitting percentage, while sophomore Makenna Gambee of Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro led the team with three blocks.
 
Julianne Miller led the Cougars with 12 kills, a .435 attack percentage and five blocks in the three sets. Katrina Radisic added 10 kills with four blocks, and Sara Wagenveld posted nine kills with three blocks.
 
HPU challenged the PacWest leaders from the get-go. After APU took an early lead, the Sharks responded with a 5-0 run to take a 14=11 lead on a Ferris kill. HPU held off a Cougar charge and built a 19-16 lead on a service ace by senior Amanda Acosta of Exeter, Calif./Extra Union. Azusa came back to know the set at 20-all and the teams traded points to 23-23. But back-to-back attack errors by the Sharks gave the Cougars the 25-23 win.
 
Azusa Pacific took control of the match after that and never allowed HPU a lead or a tie again.
 
In the second set, APU used a 4-1 run to start the set and gradually built a 13-9 advantage. The Cougars went on a 3-0 run to lead 16-10 and never looked back on the way to a 25-16 victory.
 
The final set saw APU open with the 4-0 run and building it to 12-6 and eventually to 19-12 before HPU answered. Junior Cameryn Collie of El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge started a run for the Sharks with a kill as HPU rolled on a 6-2 run to pull within three at 21-18 after another service ace by Acosta. The Cougars responded with two points, while the Sharks did likewise to sit at 23-20. The teams swapped scores again before Wagenveld ended the match with a kill to win 25-21.
 
HPU returns to Honolulu to finish the season with a pair of matches at The Shark Tank. The Sharks host Academy of Art on Wednesday, then close the year against Holy Names next Friday. Both matches are at 7 p.m.