Live Video Broadcast
Tickets are $3 for all (first 50 FPU students get in free)
#3 Azusa Pacific at #1 Fresno Pacific, 7 pm (FPU Special Events Center)
Fresno Pacific is one win away from traveling to the NCCAA National Tournament in Florida following an impressive season that earned the Sunbirds (23-3, 15-1 PacWest) a first round bye in the semifinal and the opportunity to host the West Region Championship.
Standing in the way of the Sunbirds are the Azusa Pacific Cougars (22-9, 10-6 PacWest), a team that took FPU to five sets on September 21 earlier this season and is coming off an upset of #2-seed California Baptist in the West Region Semifinal. In the September matchup, APU stole the first two sets before FPU rallied behind 20 Rupia Inck kills and 14 Kathleen Anderson kills to win three straight in an instant classic in Azusa.
On Saturday at 7 pm in Fresno, the two schools will face off head-to-head with the winner being crowned the West Region champs and earning a bid to Kissimmee, Florida.
History
FPU is 60-10 vs. APU all time, the highest winning percentage of any team against the Cougars in any sport.
Fresno Pacific defeated Azusa Pacific 3-2 (16-25, 20-25, 26-24, 25-24, 15-8) at Azusa earlier this season.
Offense
Fresno Pacific enters the game ranked #10 in the NCCAA in attack percentage at .225, four spots ahead of Azusa at #14 with a .215 attack percentage. Junior middle blocker Kathleen Anderson is the only player between the two schools ranked in the top 25 in the nation in attack percentage, coming in at #15 in the NCCAA with .319 hitting (ranked #1 in the west region).
FPU takes the edge in kill average coming in at #3 in the NCCAA averaging 13.57 kills per set behind Rupia Inck who ranks 12th, totaling 3.75 kills per set. Azusa Pacific is powered by the #7 ranked Jackie Landers at 3.88 kills per set, while the offense as a whole is ranked #8 in the NCCAA at 13.10 kills per set.
The facilitators of the offense for FPU, Erica Adachi and Emily Carroll, have the Sunbird offense ranked first in assists per set at 12.90 while APU comes in at #7 averaging 12.35 assists per set. Adachi averages 5.70 assists per set while Carroll averages 5.73 in the two setter system, which would put the two combined ranked fourth at 11.43 in the NCCAA.
Defense
At the net, the dual-threat Anderson ranks third in the NCCAA totaling 1.25 blocks per set after recording 86 blocks in only 80 sets. She leads FPU to the fourth best blocking average as a team at 2.30 per set. APU is lead by Ashley Vander Tuig, totaling 1.14 blocks per set good for #6 in the NCCAA. The Cougars as a team come in at #13 in the NCCAA with 1.86 blocks per set.
Behind the blockers, FPU has freshman libero Hannah Butler who ranks third in the NCCAA with 5.33 digs per set to lead the eighth ranked Sunbirds who total 16.61 digs per set. APU ranks 22nd with an average of 15.35 digs per set.
