AZUSA, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball was unable to create momentum falling to Azusa Pacific in three sets (25-23, 25-10, 25-16) Friday at the Felix Event Center.

Senior Cat Thomason led the Penguins (8-18, 6-15 PacWest) with eight kills on a .292 hitting percentage. Senior Kate Even added through with six kills and six blocks, while freshman Brittania Chan was close behind with five kills and three total blocks. Sophomore Hana Wyles and freshman Samantha Brown gave strong defensive support with 10 digs each. 

Amy Hinnant provided 11 kills on a .500 hitting percentage for the Cougars (23-6, 19-2 PacWest), while Natalie Klapp had eight kills and 14 digs. 

The Penguins jumped ahead early on a three point run bookended with a kill from Even and sophomore Josie Walser. The match was a continual back and forth battle with Dominican taking the lead at 14-12 near the midway point, but the Cougars rallied after a timeout to take the momentum. Azusa Pacific came out of the huddle with a 5-0 run led by Julianne Miller. Dominican countered with back-to-back points to close back within one at 16-17, but the Cougars answered with a 4-0 run to build a small five point cushion. The Penguins rallied late with a four point run of their own to make it 23-22, but it was not enough as the Cougars took the first set 25-23.

The Penguins were unable to get a run going in set two. With the score 8-6 in favor of the Cougars Hinnant sparked a 12-0 run to put the set out of reach. Dominican was unable to find its first set rhythm in the final set of the match either. Miller and Aliyah Morrison bookended a 3-0 run for the Cougars to take an early 4-1 and they never looked back on their way to a 25-16 victory in the final set.

Dominican will play Point Loma in its final match of the 2018 season at 2 p.m. PDT Saturday at Golden Gymnasium. Live stats and video will be available online.