AZUSA, Calif. - After CUI women's volleyball team secured their first win of the season against Alaska Fairbanks earlier in the month, they looked to take on Azusa Pacific in the PacWest conference opener tonight. The Eagles fell just short in five sets with scores 22-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-27, and 11-15.

The PacWest Player of the Week Patience O'Neal led the team with 17 kills, three aces, and a career high 18 digs. Kirra Schulz and Gracie Rowland were right behind with 15 and 14 kills while Mackenzie Jensen racked up 9 kills with an impressive hitting percentage of .467 and four blocks. Jalyssa Sanchez played in the middle and had eight kills and four blocks on the night while libero Cassidy Gelacio collected 21 digs. Setter Brianna Latigue recorded her career high of 54 assists and scooped up 14 digs.

In the first set, the score toggled back-and-forth between both teams for the majority of the set and nobody took more than a three point lead. After the Eagles got a couple kills to eliminate the lead, the Cougars closed out the set with a 22-25 score.

The Cougars took an early 0-4 lead over the Eagles in the second set but kills from O'Neal, Rowland, and Schulz allowed them to get back in the game and take a one point lead. A group of service errors from each team allowed the score to stay close until Schulz pulled out an ace from the end line to take a 23-22 lead. A kill from O'Neal gave the Eagles a set win and tie with one match each.

Things started out the same way in the third set for APU, taking a four point lead until they missed a serve to snap their run. Julia Wilson came into the game to serve for the Eagles and went on a four point run to tie the set with the Cougars at 7-7. O'Neal served up two consecutive aces to take a 15-12 lead and never allowed APU to get back in the game with their scrappy plays. Sanchez helped at the service line going on a three point run and a kill from Jensen earned the Eagles their second set victory.

The Eagles continued their momentum in the fourth set taking the biggest lead of the match with a six point lead at 16-10. The Cougars slowly inched back into the set with a few kills and a couple hitting errors by the green and gold. Schulz snapped their six point run with a kill but that didn't stop APU from taking the fourth set 25-27. The Eagles started out strong in the fifth with a kill from O'Neal and an ace from Latigue brought the Eagles a 2-0 lead. Once the Cougars were able to inch back yet again and tie the game early, they ran with it until the end and finished 11-15.

The Eagles will continue PacWest play and compete against Biola on Wednesday, Mar. 24 at 7 p.m. in the CU Arena.

To see the full CUI women's volleyball team schedule, CLICK HERE.

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