The Cougars have advanced to 13-2 on the season after defeating Dominican 3-1 and Notre Dame De Namur 3-0

Azusa Pacific’s volleyball team has been consistently producing strong performances week after week. This weekend was no different, as the Cougars defeated Dominican and Notre Dame De Namur by a collective set score of 6-1 on Friday and Saturday.

Their first matchup of the away trip was against Dominican on Friday who before the contest held a 1-11 record. Although APU executed strongly from the first set, DUC kept the matchup fairly close.

The first set was only decided by the five points, as the Cougars escaped with the 25-20 victory. The second set was much stronger for APU, and their defense only allowed the Penguins’ offense to claim 15 points by the end of the match.

APU’s lone set loss throughout the weekend came in the third set against DUC when the lost 25-22. Nevertheless, APU responded with their best set yet by defeating their opponent 25-11 which put the contest away.

Senior Julianne Miller was the hero of the game, earning 15 kills and five blocks by the end of the matchup. Overall, the Cougars earned a collective total of 64 kills compared to ACU’s 34 kills. The defense was also incredibly consistent as APU only saw 16 errors throughout the four sets. Bailey Henington, who has already received PacWest Defensive Player of the Week Honors, led the game with 28 digs.

A quick trip to San Jose followed for the Cougars as they played the Argonauts on Saturday. APU made quick work of ND, sweeping them 3-0 on their opponent’s home court.

The first set saw the Argonauts score only six points, while the Cougars scored the set-deciding 25 points. The second set, while closer, was also a fairly easy 25-14 win for APU. The third set was certainly the most challenging for the Cougars. 

Despite APU having complete control of the game, ND had a lot of fight in them throughout the final set as the score was tied nine different times. It took the Cougars 30 points to escape with the match sweep, which ultimately advanced their record to 13-2 on the season.

Miller and freshman Annaka Jorgenson led the team with 10 kills each throughout the night. Hennington once again impressed with her defensive prowess, leading the team with 15 digs which gives her an average of 22.5 digs per game so far this campaign.

History was made following Saturday’s result, as Miller solidified herself as one of the top volleyball players in program history. Her two blocks against the Argonauts allowed her to pass Hawaii Pacific University’s Haley Doerfier on PacWest’s All-Time Block Leader list with 395 total blocks, making her the PacWest All-Time Leader in career blocks. Miller is also sixth in school history in terms of blocks.

Following Saturday’s victory, the Cougars have now won nine straight contests and their league record advanced to a perfect 7-0. They will hope to continue their success on Friday, Oct. 18 when they are once again on the road, this time to play the Point Loma Sea Lions. First serve will occur at 7 pm.