Despite a strong start, the NAIA No. 14-ranked Sea Lions were defeated 3-1 by the No. 5 Azusa Pacific University (20-25, 25-13, 28-26 and 25-11). PLNU fell to 16-8 overall and 6-8 in the Golden State Athletic Conference.
 
Seventy-one team kills for a .355 hitting percentage upped the Cougars to 19-7 overall and 10-4 in conference. The Sea Lions, by comparison, had 46 kills to hit .208. APU out-blocked PLNU 6-5.
 
The first set was either team's game, as neither led by more than a point or two on the way to the 18-18 deadlock. But a pair of Cougar attack errors and a kill from Alyssa Pitkin put the Sea Lions three points ahead. A pair of kills from Chelsea Joanou helped propel PLNU to the end of its 25-20 first set.
 
The Cougars set out to prove their ranking in the second set, taking control from the outset with five unanswered points. By the time the Sea Lions managed four points APU had built a ten-point lead. Azusa Pacific expanded from there, finishing 12 ahead at 25-13.
 
The Sea Lions, determined to fight back, answered in the third set by garnering a 7-2 lead early on. But the Cougars inched back. Five consecutive points to make it 11-13 helped, but PLNU hadn't let go yet. The Sea Lions led the set all the way to 23-22 before Azusa pounded three unanswered points to bring it to set point. Point Loma made the Cougars work for the victory, as they were pushed to set point four times before winning 28-26.
 
The Sea Lions seemed defeated in the fourth, trailing by as much as 7-2 early on. An eight-point run and a four-point run for APU, punctuated by a Sea Lions kill from Tabitha Henken and an ace from Joanou, was enough to seal up the match with a 25-11 fourth set.
 
Henken led the Sea Lions offense with 15 kills, followed by Alyssa Pitkin with 12. Kylie Morel had 28 assists and nine digs. Nicole Eiler was the only Sea Lion in double digits on defense with 19 digs.
 
For APU, Jill Baker led with 23 kills and 14 digs, followed by Whittany Radcliffe with 18 winners and Marguerite Hanna with 14. Raechel Jones had 36 assists and 10 digs and Sophie Burns had 24 assists. APU had four players in double digits in digs, as Robin Pertela led with 21 and Julia Wehnsener contributed 13.
 
The Sea Lions return to Golden Gymnasium Tuesday as they take on San Diego Christian College at 7 p.m.
 
-Nathan Scharn