RIVERSIDE, Calif. - La Sierra University (11-9) swept Arizona Christian (9-9) 3-0 on Thursday, winning 25-17, 25-20, 25-19 at Firestorm Rec Center in Glendale, Arizona. The victory moved the Golden Eagles to 7-4 in GSAC play.
Maylynn Mitchell powered the attack with 22 kills, while Teresa Pattanaro added 10 kills, both hitting .500. La Sierra finished with 46 kills and a .337 hitting percentage, compared with 34 kills and .200 hitting for Arizona Christian, which fell to 4-7 in conference play. Aleksandra Augustyniak contributed five kills without an attack error, three aces and two blocks.
Augustyniak's solo block capped a four-point run that broke a 6-6 tie in the opening set. Later, Sarah Patin finished a five-point surge with a solo block, stretching the Golden Eagles' advantage from 18-14 to 23-14. Augustyniak closed the set with a kill assisted by Haidyn Achee as La Sierra recorded 19 kills and hit .500.
The Golden Eagles rallied from deficits of 7-3 and 9-5 in the second set. Mitchell's kill completed a three-point run for a 12-11 lead, and consecutive Augustyniak aces later put La Sierra ahead 16-15. After Arizona Christian tied it at 16, kills by Pattanaro and Sofia Green followed by two opponent attack errors produced four straight points. Arizona Christian saved two set points before Mitchell's kill secured a 2-0 match lead.
Arizona Christian challenged again in the third set, erasing an 11-7 deficit with five consecutive points to force a La Sierra timeout and later taking a 13-12 lead. The Golden Eagles broke a 14-14 tie with four straight points, capped by Mitchell's kill.Â
Emma Martini then served two aces during another four-point run that pushed the margin from 18-16 to 22-16. Green finished the match with a kill off Achee's assist.
Achee finished with 14 assists, and Camille Agrupis supplied 13 assists and eight digs. Mayah Tiscareno led La Sierra with 11 digs and added seven assists, helping the Golden Eagles finish with a 41-30 advantage in digs. Green totaled seven kills, while Emilija Prolic contributed three block assists as La Sierra doubled Arizona Christian's team block total, 6-3.
La Sierra plays Benedictine Mesa in its next contest on Wednesday, Oct. 21 in Riverside. The match is set for first serve at 6:00 PM.Â
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