Azusa Pacific 3
Point Loma Nazarene 0

AZUSA, Calif. -- Ace is the place—at least for Azusa Pacific. The Cougars served a season-high 16 aces to key their way to a 3-0 win over Point Loma Nazarene Saturday night in Azusa.

The win is the Cougars’ third straight and fifth in the past 7 games as they move to 18-10 overall, 9-7 GSAC. Point Loma falls to 10-17, 3-13.

It is the first time since 1991 that Azusa Pacific swept a season series from Point Loma.

Eight of the 10 Cougars that played recorded an ace led by Colleen Walker’s 4. The Cougars recorded 9 of their 16 aces in the clinching game, and fittingly the match ended on an ace by Caitlin Hill.

Chelsea Morgan had a match-high 15 kills as 3 Cougars reached double-figures in kills.

The first 2 games were nip and tuck affairs. The Cougars broke a 19-19 tie with 4 straight points and opened the game’s largest lead at 23-19. The Sea Lions fought back, and keyed by a pair of Amy Worgull kills, took a 27-26 lead. But the Cougars reeled off the game’s final 4 points to take the game.

Azusa Pacific led most of the second game keeping the Sea Lions at bay most of the way. The Cougars led 23-19 when again the Sea Lions battled and caught the Cougars and took a 26-24 lead. But in a carbon copy of the first game, the Cougars closed the game by scoring the final 6 points, the final coming on an ace by Alison Pattison.

With all the momentum, the Cougars dominated the third game. They led 9-8 and took advantage of 2 Sea Lion attack errors to take a 12-9 lead. Their lead continued to grow and never shrunk below 2 points (14-12) the rest of the way.

Brianne Huff finished with 11 kills and 5 digs. Walker had 10 kills and 7 digs. Jenny Brickner added 9 kills and 3 blocks. Kate Alderson led Point Loma Nazarene with 11 kills and a match-high 17 digs.