The University of Redlands women's volleyball team took to the road to take on Division II opponent, Azusa Pacific University on Friday afternoon. Despite a close first and third set, the Bulldogs ultimately came up on the short end of a three-set loss (19-25, 11-25, 20-25) to an APU team that has not lost a conference or home match since October 2017.
The Cougars built a slight lead halfway through the first game putting the Bulldogs in a, 10-16, hole, forcing Redlands to work from behind. The Maroon and Gray stayed focused and subsequently went on a 6-1 run to pull within one at 16-17. First-year middle blocker Makayla Sorenson (Lakewood, CA) sparked the scoring with a highlight-reel kill from first-year setter Bella Thornbury (Grass Valley, CA). Sorenson then teamed up with sophomore right-side hitter Saudya Reagor (Banning, CA) for a nice block to keep the momentum rolling. Junior outside hitter Natalie Starlin (Las Vegas, NV) got in on the action with an attack of her own before junior outside hitter Paige Davidson (Spanaway, WA) found the floor with a service ace. Reagor and Starlin then slammed back-to-back kills to round out the impressive run.
Although the Bulldogs always stayed within striking distance, APU managed to put the game away with the final few points.
After dropping the second set, Redlands came out all cylinders firing with three consecutive kills from Sorenson, senior right-side hitter Angelina Hughes (Wildomar, CA), and Starlin to open the third and give the Bulldogs an early 3-0 lead.
Despite the Cougars jumping back in front, a quick kill from Starlin and two APU miscues, the score remained even, 6-6. Starlin continued to shine over the match with two kills to make it 13-15. Senior middle blocker Hannah Lanyon (San Diego, CA) then made her presence known with back-to-back attacks for a 15-17 score.
A little bit later and down by five, Sorenson and Davidson attempted to execute the comeback with a sweet kill and another service ace, but the Cougars scored the next two points to hand Redlands a hard-fought, 20-25, loss.
Sorenson and Starlin led the team with eight kills apiece while Lanyon supplied seven. Thornbury served as the main ball distributor with 30 assists while senior libero Ally Busch (Long Beach, CA) patrolled the back row with 15 digs.
The Bulldogs look forward to an intrasquad match to celebrate the careers of their seniors on Friday, April 2, at 7 p.m. The match will be live streamed at GoRedlands.com. The team then travels to Life Pacific College for an exhibition match on Friday, April 9, at 5 p.m.