BOX SCORE
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Seniors Jessica Buffum and Meghan Warkentin combined for 24 kills to lead No. 3 Biola to its seventh-straight victory, a 25-13, 25-20, 25-20 sweep over No. 15 Point Loma Nazarene University in a GSAC match on Saturday night.
The Eagles improve to 22-2 on the season and remain second in the GSAC with a 12-2 conference mark. The Sea Lions fall to 15-7 overall and 7-7 in GSAC play.
Biola dominated the match from start to finish, mirroring the effort in sweeping Point Loma in San Diego earlier this season. The Eagles posted a impressive .330 attack percentage in the match while holding the Sea Lions to a .108 hitting percentage. Point Loma entered the match as one of the best blocking teams in the conference, but Biola recorded eight to the Sea Lions' two.
Biola's outside hitters were nearly untouchable, with Buffum leading the way. The senior recorded 14 kills and added 12 digs, two blocks and an assist. Warkentin had 10 kills three digs and a solo block. Senior Kelsey Mitchell recorded a team-best .545 hitting percentage with eight kills in 11 swings, adding two blocks and two assists.
The Eagles got off to a strong start in the first set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. Point Loma narrowed the gap to 9-6 before Biola rolled of a long 13-3 run to put the set away. Biola hit .411 in the first set, recording 18 of its 25 points off kills with three more coming off blocks.
In the second, the teams battled back-and-forth through the first half of the set. With the score tied at 13-13, Biola used a quick 6-1 run to finally break through as Warkentin and Buffum each had a pair of kills to lead the run. Point Loma would close the gap to two on a few occasions, but Maggie McGill recorded a block then combined with Kelsey Christoferson on a block to make it 24-19 and the Eagles would not look back.
Biola broke a 7-7 tie in the third set with an impressive 9-1 run thanks to five straight hitting errors by the Sea Lions. The Eagles would extend the lead to as many as nine at 23-14 before a late run by Point Loma would make it a more respectable 25-20 final.
Point Loma was led by Tabitha Henken, who recorded 10 kills and added six digs. Melissa Boer added nine kills, but had seven hitting errors on the night.
Biola once again received strong play from its middle blockers as senior Kristen Peterson and junior Kelsey Christoferson combined for nine kills and seven blocks.
Junior libero Katie Stevens had a match-high 15 digs and added an assist. Stevens currently sits in third place on the all-time digs list at Biola and needs just 93 to take over the top spot.
Biola returns to action on Tuesday (Oct. 28), traveling to Hope International University for a GSAC match at 7:00 p.m.
