BOX SCORE
FULLERTON, Calif. --- Sophomore Tavea Hampton made the most of her first start of the season, recording seven kills and adding three blocks to help pace Biola to a 25-21, 25-21, 25-12 sweep over Hope International in a GSAC match on Tuesday night at Darling Pavilion in Fullerton.
The Eagles, ranked No. 3 in the latest NAIA National poll, move to 23-2 on the season with their eighth-straight victory and remain in second place in the GSAC with a 13-2 record. The Royals drop to 5-16 on the season and 2-13 in conference play.
Hampton and junior Kelsey Christoferson provided the punch in the middle for Biola, combining for 13 kills in 24 swings and five blocks. Hampton hit .357 in the match with seven kills in 13 attacks while Chrisoferson had another perfect night with six kills in 10 attacks with no errors.
Senior outside hitter Meghan Warkentin celebrated her 23rd birthday with a team-high nine kills with fellow senior outside hitter Kelsey Mitchell adding seven and a service ace.
The Eagles had little trouble in the match, trailing just three times and never after the third point of the match. In the first set, the Eagles got off to a quick 13-6 lead and held off a late run by Hope to take the set 25-21.
The story was the same in the second as BIola led 11-5 early on only to see the Royals close the gap to two at 15-13. Biola then stretched lead back to seven at 21-14and settled for a 25-21 win on the heels of a service ace by senior setter Christina Perkins.
The Eagles opened up with yet another big lead, holding an 11-5 edge and not allowing Hope to get much closer the rest of the way to take the third set 25-12.
Junior setter Abbie Wright had a strong night all around, recording 15 assists, 14 digs and three aces. Perkins was also impressive with 16 assists, five digs and a pair of aces.
Junior libero Katie Stevens continued to inch closer to the all-time digs record at Biola with 14 on the night giving her 1,388 in her three-year career. She now stands just 78 shy of the record.
Biola returns to action on Saturday (Nov. 1) for a huge match against No. 2 Concordia University at Chase Gymnasium. The victor of the match will take a big step toward wrapping up second place in the GSAC conference with Biola having a strong arguement for moving into the No. 2 spot nationally--the highest a Biola volleyball squad has ever been ranked. The match begins at 7:00 p.m. but fans are encouraged to arrive early as it is expected to be another packed house.
