Box Score

NCCAA National Championship Bracket & Information

Fresno Pacific def. Azusa Pacific 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-18, 25-13)

A familiar foe stood between Fresno Pacific and the NCCAA National Tournament on Saturday night as the top-seeded Sunbirds took on #3-seed Azusa Pacific in a battle for the West Region title.

The heavily-favored NCAA D2 #10-ranked Sunbirds showed no signs of slowing down, continuing their historical dominance over the Cougars with a 3-1 win to improve to 61-10 all-time against APU, the highest winning percentage against the Cougars by any team in any sport.

Erica Adachi, in her final home game, shined for the Sunbirds, putting together a triple-double of 12 kills, 24 assists, 16 digs and a .478 attack percentage. Karah Mitchell and Rupia Inck led a balanced attack with 14 kills apiece, and Kathleen Anderson added 11.

The Sunbird hitters were locked-in all night, minus a sub-par second set in which they had nine attack errors, hitting .455, .306 and .400 in the three set wins.

"When we're looking across the floor at another team there's usually one or two players we know we're going to have to focus on," said head coach Kelly Winter. "When they're looking at us, it really could be anybody. Our team is just so deep this year and the girls have done a great job of stepping up when one hitter is off."

Hannah Butler continued her phenomenal play at the libero spot, totaling 22 digs in the win. Emily Carroll dished out 23 assists and had a strong all-around night in the senior's final game in Fresno.

Jackie Landers had 15 kills and 10 digs to lead the Cougars, who end the season with a record of 22-10. FPU limited APU's top hitter to .122 hitting on the night.

"She was the key and we looked to contain her," said Winter. "We knew if we could keep her under .200 we'd be able to win the match. She's a great player and we knew we had to control her."

After blitzing past the Cougars in set one the Sunbirds let the Cougars back into it with nine attack errors in the second set. FPU then fell behind 3-0 in the third set, but regained composure as Mitchell took control early on to help the team build a 13-8 lead. Back to back kills by Morghan Williams later in the set would make it 19-14 and the Sunbirds would win it on a block by Anderson and Adachi.

The Sunbirds then put their foot on the pedal in set four, jumping ahead 6-1 after a nasty Butler serve that spun off the hands of the APU libero for an ace. APU called multiple timeouts in the set, but the Sunbirds refused to let up with Inck and Anderson taking charge in both hitting and blocking. Adachi put the exclamation point on the win with the final kill.

The Sunbirds hit .289 on the night, compared to .182 for the Cougars.

FPU advances to the NCCAA National Tournament, beginning November 28 in Kissimmee, Florida. They'll join the FPU men's soccer team, which also won the West Region title today with a 3-1 win over California Baptist.

Other teams that have qualified for the national volleyball tournament include McMurry (TX), Malone (OH), Campbellsville (KY) and Trinity Christian (IL), as well as Shorter (GA), also transitioning to the NCAA Division II from the NAIA. Shorter is currently the #1-ranked team in the NCCAA's computer rankings.

"It's going to be a grind and it's going to be a lot of volleyball," said Winter. "It's six matches in three days if you make the championship so it's going to take the whole entire roster. I feel really confident going into it because we have such a deep team. I'm really looking forward to it and I know the girls will be focused and ready to go."

For more results of NCCAA Regionals, click here