BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- No. 4 Biola University used a strong, balanced attack and played its best all-around match of the year, handing No. 1 Fresno Pacific its first loss of the season in a 29-31, 30-19, 30-28, 28-30, 15-13 win Wednesday night before a crowd of 422 fans at Chase Gymnasium.

The Eagles improve to 25-5 and 12-5 in GSAC with their first win over Fresno Pacific since 1997–a span of 21 matches. Fresno Pacific, which had lost just seven games all season and none in its last 13 matches, falls to 25-1 overall and 15-1 in the GSAC. It was also just the fifth loss for the Sunbirds in GSAC play since 2001.

It was hard to imagine Biola would have much left in the tank after a hard-fought five-game loss at No. 3 Concordia just 24 hours before and a weekend tournament in Michigan. But the Eagles dug deep and were outstanding in every facet of the game, posting a .282 attack percentage while the holding the Sunbirds to a .191 mark. Biola also had 12 blocks to FPU's seven and posted 81 kills overall.

“Everyone really stepped up for us tonight,” said Biola Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. “The team played very well and we didn't have many weaknesses out there. You can't beat the top team in the country without the whole team playing its best and that's what these ladies did tonight.”

Junior outside hitter Meghan Warkentin led the Eagles with 23 kills with just three errors while fellow junior outside hitter Jessica Buffum added 19 kills, 13 digs and six blocks.

Fresno Pacific jumped out to an early 12-4 lead in game one before the Eagles stormed back to tie the score at 14-14. After the Sunbirds rolled back to a 22-16 advantage, Biola slowly closed the gap and eventually tied the score again at 29-29. But a kill by Marin Canaday and an ace by Julie De Jager gave Fresno the first game by a 31-29 count.

The score remained close though the first half of game two until the Eagles broke a 17-17 tie with a 13-2 run to win by a 30-19 count. Warkentin recorded five kills and sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Christoferson added a kill and a solo block to aid the Biola run.

After leading throughout most of game three, the Eagles found themselves fighting to hang on late. Trailing 25-19, Fresno mounted a late rally and used an 8-3 run to pull within one at 28-27. But Warkentin again came through with a pair of kills to give Biola a 30-28 win.

The Eagles had a chance to close out the match in game four, leading by three at 21-18. But Fresno was not finished and scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 27-23 lead. Biola closed the gap to one at 28-27, but this time it was the Sunbirds who scored two of the final three points for the win.

Both teams battled in game five as if the national championship was on the line. Fresno had the early edge, scoring three straight to go up 7-5. But the Eagles remained close and took back the lead at 12-11 on back-to-back blocks. The teams traded points until a kill by junior outside hitter Kelsey Mitchell set up match-point for Biola at 14-13. During the ensuing rally, Biola blocked an attack attempt by Canaday, forcing the Sunbirds to send over a free ball. The Eagles ran a quick outside set for Warkentin, who hammered the ball through the block for the match-winner.

The Biola defense held Fresno Pacific's leading hitter, Fabiana Leomil to just 15 kills but with 12 errors for a .052 attack percentage. The Sunbirds' other outside option, Thais Julio hit .119 and had 18 kills but committed 13 errors. Canaday led the Sunbirds with 20 kills and had three blocks.

For the Eagles, Mitchell finished the match with 12 kills and two blocks while Christoferson added 13 kills, four blocks and two digs.

Junior setter Christina Perkins had a season-best 39 assists and 11 digs with sophomore setter Abbie Wright added 28 assists.

Biola's last win over Fresno Pacific came while most of the current players were in elementary school. On October 18, 1997, the Eagles pulled off a 3-1 win in Fresno to complete a season sweep over the Sunbirds.

Biola returns to the court on Saturday (Nov. 3), traveling to Santa Clarita for a GSAC match against The Master's College at 7:00 p.m.

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