BOX SCORE
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Senior outside hitter Kelsey Mitchell had 14 kills and Maggie McGill recorded 11 kills with no errors to lead No. 3 Biola to a 25-18, 25-13, 17-25, 25-12 win over No. 12 Vanguard University in a GSAC match on Thursday night.
The Eagles improve to 20-2 on the season with their fifth-straight victory and improve to 10-2 in conference play. The Lions drop to 12-4 on the heels of their fourth consecutive loss and fall to 6-5 in the GSAC.
Mitchell and McGill each posted season-highs in kills with Mitchell recording 14 and adding a pair of blocks. McGill had 11 kills in 32 attacks without committing an error for a .344 attack percentage.
The Eagles got off to a quick start against the fiesty Lions, jumping out to a 7-3 lead in the first set. Vanguard closed the gap to one at 10-9, but Biola answered with an 8-2 run to pull away.
In the second set, Biola snapped a 7-7 tie with a quick 5-0 run thanks to strong serving by McGill. Still leading 17-12, the Eagles closed out the set by scoring eight of the final nine points. Biola hit an impressive .406 in the set while holding Vanguard to a .061 attack percentage. The Eagles also recorded a sideout on 12 of their 13 opportunities in the set.
Vanguard rallied back with a strong showing in the third. The Lions got off to a 10-3 lead in the set before Biola woke up and pulled back to within two at 11-9. However, Vanguard used a 10-2 run to break the set open and picked up the 25-17 win.
But the Eagles responded with a dominating performance in the fourth set to take the game. Biola opened with a 9-4 lead and really never looked back. The Eagles again posted a great hitting set with 12 kills and just two errors for a .345 hitting percentage. Vanguard, on the other hand, hit -.069, committing eight errors with just six kills in 29 swings.
Kelsey Wirt led the Lions with a match-high 15 kills, adding 12 digs and three blocks. Shardai Sublett added 10 kills.
Senior middle blocker Kristen Peterson continued her strong play as of late with seven kills and five blocks up front. Senior outside hitter Jessica Buffum recorded eight kills and added 11 digs.
Biola returns to action on Tuesday (Oct. 21), traveling to San Diego Christian College for a GSAC match at 7:00 p.m.
