IRVINE, Calif. – In a battle of top tier teams in the PacWest Conference, the Concordia University Irvine Eagles put first-place Azusa Pacific on upset alert before falling in five sets. Concordia entered the evening on a three-game winning streak while the Cougars had won their last six in a row.

CUI built an impressive 2-0 lead before the Cougars rallied and escaped 15-11 in the deciding sequence.

Sophomore Brianna Latigue racked up a career-high 45 assists to go with 14 digs and classmate Hannah Tostado posted a career-high ten blocks against the Cougars.

Newport Rib Company Eagle of the Week Riley Gill finished the evening with 15 kills and 20 digs to post her team-leading ninth double-double of the season. Senior Julia DenBoer led CUI with 32 digs and was one of three Eagles to register an ace. Freshman Cassidy Gelacio added 10 digs to help the defense.

Latigue helped the Eagles build a 17-11 advantage in the opening set. The sophomore setter collected seven assists and eight digs in the first to pace the Eagles. Jaclyn Brown led the way with six kills.

A key point came midway when libero Julia DenBoer dug out a tough APU attack and Patience O'Neal put down a kill compliments Latigue. That put the Eagles up 13-9 and forced Cougars to call a timeout.

The Cougars were able to rally thanks to an 8-0 run that turned the tide in their favor briefly. But then two-time PacWest Freshman of the Week Mackenzie Jensen helped the Green and Gold get back on track with a powerful spike out of a timeout. The Eagles were able to regain control and snatch a 25-22 win as Denboer capped it off with an ace down the stretch.

The Eagles followed up that strong effort by going up 2-0 after notching a 25-19 victory in the second set. Gill racked up five kills to help give the offense a boost. Jensen also collected three of her 10 kills on the night and hit .333.

APU avoided the sweep by pulling away with a 25-20 in the third set. Hannah Tostado led CUI with four kills during that stretch and Patience O'Neal aided the cause with three of her nine kills. Julianne Miller helped the Cougars by piling up seven kills in the third.

In the fourth set, the Eagles were playing catchup. Jensen placed a perfectly timed solo block to cut the deficit to 18-14. Brown followed suit a couple points later with another rejection to keep the Eagles in the mix. She added five kills to lead the Green and Gold.

Brown and Gill helped get the Eagles out to a 3-0 lead early in the fifth set. After APU regrouped during a timeout, CUI kept the pressure on and extended its advantage to 7-3 after getting a boost from Clarice Buchanan on some key serves and digs. But the Cougars were able to pull through and continue their winning streak.

CUI will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 10 at Hawai'i Hilo. The Eagles next home contest is slated for Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. against Holy Names.

For the full CUI women's volleyball schedule, click here.