BOX SCORE
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Fresno Pacific University exacted its revenge with a quick 30-16, 30-22, 30-19 sweep over Biola University in the NAIA Region II Semifinals Friday night at the Special Events Center in Fresno.
The Eagles, who are ranked No. 4 in the NAIA and the fourth seed in the regional tournament, drop to 28-7 on the season while the top-ranked Sunbirds improve to 30-1.
Biola handed Fresno Pacific its only loss of the season in a five-game Halloween Night victory at Chase Gymnasium in La Mirada. However, on this night, the Sunbirds absolutely dominated all aspects of the game.
The Eagles were led by the 11 kills of junior outside hitter Meghan Warkentin with junior Kelsey Mitchell adding eight.
Fresno Pacific's Thias Julio had 18 kills to lead all players while Brittany Pierce contributed 12 of her own. Julio, who had 18 kills but hit a paltry .119 the last time these two teams met, hit a rediculous .708 on the night with 18 kills with one error in 24 swings.
Fresno Pacific dominated the first game, jumping out to a 13-5 lead and never looking back. The Sunbirds hit .472 in the game, recording 18 kills on just one error in 36 swings.
In the second game, the Eagles held an early 9-7 lead but quickly saw it disappear as an FPU 10-3 run gave the Sunbirds a 17-12 advantage. Biola managed its way back into the game, pulling to within a single point on three different occasions, the last coming at 23-22. But the Sunbirds closed out the game with seven straight points to go up two games to none in the match.
Biola fought back and forth with Fresno Pacific at the beginning of the third game, but the Sunbirds broke open a 6-6 tie with a 9-3 run and never looked back. FPU stretched the lead to as many as 10 points at 25-15 before settling for the 30-19 win.
Fresno Pacific hit an impressive .372 in the match, committing just 10 hitting errors with 55 kills. Biola was held to a .174 attack percentage.
Earlier in the day, No. 2 seed California Baptist had little trouble dispatching of No. 3 Concordia 30-23, 30-20, 30-21 to secure a spot in the finals.
Biola's next action will come during the 2007 NAIA National Championships where they are expected to earn the No. 4 overall seed in the tournament. The championships run Nov. 28-Dec. 1 at Columbia University in Columbia, Missouri.
