California Baptist 3
Azusa Pacific 0

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Colleen Walker had 13 kills and 13 digs but it wasn’t enough as the NAIA’s No. 15-ranked California Baptist edged past Azusa Pacific, 30-27, 30-28, 33-31, avenging an earlier loss to the Cougars.

With the win, the Lancers improve to 19-4 overall, 9-4 GSAC. Meanwhile, the Cougars, who have lost 4 of the past 6, drop to 15-10, 6-7.

In a match much closer than the 3-0 score indicates, the Cougars battled from the start. The Cougars trailed 26-22 in the opening game before scored 3 straight points to make it 26-25. The Lancers led 28-27 before getting back-to-back kills from Crystal Prehn to close the game.

The Cougars actually led 24-22 in the second game before the Lancers tied it at 24-24. The game was tied at 28-28 when Yudelka Bonilla connected on 2 of her match-high 18 kills to give the Lancers a 2-0 lead.

Then in the third game, the Cougars again jumped out to a 13-9 lead. The Lancers, however, responded with a 10-3 run to take a 19-16 advantage. They led 29-25 and seemed destined to close out the match until the Cougars held off 4 straight match points and rallied to tie the game at 29-29. The Cougars eventually completed a 6-1 spurt that gave them a 31-30 lead and were serving to force a fourth game. But the Lancers connected on 3 straight kills to finish off the sweep.

Jenny Brickner also had 13 kills and 3 blocks for the Cougars. Chelsea Morgan added 12 kills, and Maria Abaca finished with 11 kills and 15 digs. The Cougars hit .244 (52-20-131) while Cal Baptist finished at .299 (58-18-134).