BOX SCORE
COLUMBIA, Mo. --- Juniors Kristen Peterson and Jessica Buffum each had 12 kills to lead a balanced attack for Biola in a 30-23, 30-11, 30-25 sweep over Campbellsville University on Thursday morning at the NAIA National Championships in Columbia, Missouri.
The Eagles now control their own destiny in Pool D, improving to 2-0 while the rest of the teams in the pool have at least one loss. Biola runs its season record to 30-7 overall with the victory while the Tigers fall to 36-8.
The Eagles completely dominated the match, posting season-bests with a .404 attack percentage and 13.0 blocks.
Buffum and Peterson led the way on both sides of the ball with 12 kills apiece. Peterson posted a .611 hitting percentage and added five blocks while Buffum hit .458 and recorded six blocks. Junior outside hitter Meghan Warkentin added 10 kills.
Despite the final score, Biola dominated play in the first game, jumping out to a 12-5 lead early and cruising to the win. The Eagles committed just one error and hit .471 in the game.
The onslaught continued in the second game as Biola jumped out to a big lead and had 28 points before the Tigers were able to get into double-digits.
However, in the third game, Campbellsville came out firing and jumped out to a 14-10 lead. However, the Eagles used a 9-2 run to take back the lead at 19-16. After a timeout, the Tigers went on a 6-2 run to take back the lead at 22-21. But the Eagles closed out the game on a 8-2 run to take home the match. Junior outside hitter Maggie McGill capped off the win with back-to-back aces.
Biola setters Abbie Wright and Christina Perkins had 24 and 22 assists, respectively.
The Eagles can wrap up the top spot from Pool D and an automatic berth in the quarterfinals with a win in their final pool play match tonight against host Columbia College. The match begins at 8:15 p.m. (CT).
