BOX SCORE
AZUSA, Calif. --- Meghan Warkentin recorded 12 kills to lead six players with seven or more kills to lead No. 4 Biola to a 31-29, 25-18, 15-25, 25-15 win over No. 14 Azusa Pacific in a GSAC match Tuesday night at the Felix Events Center in Azusa.
The Eagles pick up their second straight victory and improve to 17-2 and 7-2 in GSAC play while dropping the Cougars to 15-6 and 5-4 in the conference.
Warkentin led the Eagles with 12 kills and added a block solo, four digs and an assist while posting a .267 attack percentage. Kelsey Christoferson and Jessica Buffum added nine kills each to pace the balanced attack by Biola.
The Eagles came out strong in the first game, breaking a close 13-10 open with a 10-5 run to go up 23-15. However, Azusa Pacific went on an incredible 10-1 run on the strength of Allison Kincheloe's serving to take a 25-24 lead. The team exchanged set points untli a block by Christoferson and Meghan Cunningham blocked Chelsea Daley to give Biola a 31-29 win.
The Eagles broke through midway through the second game with a 14-4 run after trailing 10-8 early. Biola would then cruise to a 25-18 win to go up to 2-0 in the match.
At that point, Biola had held Azusa Pacific's All-GSAC outside hitter Jill Baker had been held to a -.034 attack percentage. But she exploded in game three, recording seven kills and just one error to pace the Cougars to a big win. The Cougars jumped out to a 10-3 lead as Baker recorded three straight kills. APU would extend the lead to 10 to take the game 25-15.
Biola would right the ship in the fourth game. Leading 11-10 near the midway point, the Eagles rattled off a 14-5 run to close out the game and take the match with a 25-15 win.
Baker led the Cougars with 17 kills but wound up hitting just .151 in the match. Chelsea Daley added 11 kills for APU.
Biola's Kelsey Mitchell and Kristen Peterson each added eight kills with Peterson contributing five blocks and a .429 attack percentage. Christoferson also had a strong night at the net with four blocks and a .533 hitting percentage.
The Eagles return home to close out the first half of the GSAC schedule on Saturday (Oct. 10), hosting No. 3 California Baptist in a GSAC match at 7:00 p.m. The match is part of Parent's Weekend where parents of Biola's fall sports athletes will be honored. For more information on the weekend visit Biola's main homepage at http://www.biola.edu.
