AZUSA, Calif. - For the first time in five matches the Point Loma volleyball team did not go five sets, however, that did not mean things came up positive for the Sea Lions as they fell to Azusa Pacific 23-25, 25-16, 25-23 and 25-16 on Wednesday, Oct. 5.
 
That result broke a seven-match winning streak for the Sea Lions (5-10, 3-3 PacWest) against the Cougars (7-9, 3-4 PacWest) dating back to 2013.
 
"This is a rivalry of great respect, but it can also get heated at times," said Point Loma Jonathan Scott about PLNU and APU. "It is always fun to get on a winning streak but we knew it had to end sometime. (Azusa Pacific) is always well-coaches, and well-prepared, and they definitely had the upper hand tonight."
 
Julianne Miller led Azusa Pacific to the win by hitting .478 with 11 kills and no errors. Madison Ogas added 13 kills and 13 digs. Brianna Sizemore had 12 kills with 11 digs for her seventh double-double to pace Point Loma. She was the only Sea Lion to reach double-figures in kills. Christin Fisher added a match-best 30 digs and Marissa Hageman chipped in with nine kills.
 
The difference in the match was the efficiency of Azusa Pacific. The Cougars hit .203 in the match compared to .089 for the Sea Lions. Point Loma was able to overcome its lowest hitting percentage in any set in the first (.060) as APU also had its lowest hitting percentage (.070) in the same set. After that APU would hold a decisive hitting edge each set to hold off any PLNU comeback hope.
 
"The road gives us conditions these girls don't know how to respond to," said Scott. "It comes with experience. It also hurts not having the other members of our team that are injured or don't travel on the bench because we lose that support and some of our energy."
 
Despite the loss coach Scott took some positives out of the match.
 
"This team has shown the ability to improve every day, sometimes even more from losses," he said. "We will have a short memory (about tonight), and I expect that we will be even better tomorrow than we were today."
 
The Point Loma volleyball team will return home for their next two matches. The Sea Lions will host Notre Dame de Namur this Saturday, Oct. 8 at 5:00 p.m., and then welcome in Holy Names for its annual Dig Pink match on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. Join the Sea Lions at the match and dress in pink for to raise breast cancer awareness.