Corban began its 2009 season with a hard-fought loss to nationally-ranked Azusa Pacific in the opening match of the Cougar Classic inside the Felix Event Center.
Corban Falls to No. 4 Azusa Pacific in Opener
BOX SCORE
AZUSA, Calif. – Freshman Morgan Hirzel (Fullerton, Calif.) made her return to Southern California Friday and recorded a team-high 10 kills, but Corban's volleyball team fell to the NAIA's No. 4-ranked Cougars of Azusa Pacific, 3-0 (16-25, 23-25, 10-25), in the opening match of the Cougar Classic inside the Felix Event Center.
"We made a couple nice runs and hung there in the second set," said first-year head coach Nels Norquist. "[Azusa Pacific] is a solid team and we ran out of gas in the final set. Overall, everything I saw was pretty positive and I am proud of the way that the girls played in our first match of the season."
Playing against its first ranked opponent of the season, Corban came out and quickly grabbed a two-point lead (2-0) following a Hirzel kill and an Azusa Pacific attack error. The host Cougars would waste no time in getting on the scoreboard thanks to a 6-0 run that included a pair of kills from All-American Jill Baker. The Warriors would knot the set at 7-all thanks to a kill by freshman Chandra Baskoro (Gresham, Ore.) and then re-tie the score at 9-9, which forced Azusa Pacific to burn its first timeout of the match. Following a break in action, the host Cougars would use a set-closing 16-7 run to take the opening frame by nine points (25-16).
In the second set, Corban would once again jump out to a 2-0 lead behind the strength of kills by Hirzel and sophomore Tiffany Land (Independence, Ore.). Over the course of the next 31 points, Azusa Pacific would use a 20-11 run to grab what seemed like a commanding seven-point advantage (20-13). Using a never-say-die attitude, Corban would battle back to within two points (21-19) behind a pair of kills by Baskoro coupled with three mental mistakes by Azusa Pacific. The host Cougars would pull ahead by three points (24-21) only to watch, as the Warriors battled back to within a single point (24-23) thanks to a service ace by freshman Jenny Harman (Salem, Ore.). Unfortunately, Azusa Pacific would close out the middle set thanks to a combo block that gave the Cougars the two-point victory, 25-23.
The third and final set would turn out to be a one-side affair, as Corban saw a glimmer of hope early thanks to a 1-1 tie before Azusa Pacific used a 20-8 run that equaled a 21-9 lead. The nationally-ranked Cougars would close out the match with a Baker service ace for the final margin of 25-10.
Besides Hirzel's team-high performance at the net, Baskoro and Land added 7 and 4 kills respectively. Freshman Karisa Calderon (Murrieta, Calif.), who was also making a return close to home in Southern California, handed out a match-high 22 assists to go along junior Rebecca Franke's (Pendleton, Ore.) match-high 12 digs from her back row position.
Azusa Pacific was led by Baker's match-high 12 kills, while Marquerite Hanna and Amy Alkazin added eight kills each. Raechel Jones handed out a match-high 22 assists, while Baker registered her first double-double of the season with a match-high 12 digs.
With this morning's result, Corban finds itself at 0-1 early on with Azusa Pacific earning its first victory of the season. The Warriors will return to the court later this afternoon and continue play in the Cougar Classic against San Diego Christian beginning at 3:45 p.m. inside the Felix Event Center on the campus of Azusa Pacific University.