BOX SCORE
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- No. 3 Biola came back from a five-point deficit late in the fifth set and pulled out an impressive victory over No. 2 Concordia University by scores of 25-18, 21-25, 26-28, 25-21, 15-13 in a battle of two of the top teams in the GSAC and the NAIA on Saturday night at Chase Gymnasium.
Biola moves to 24-2 overall and is now 12-2 in GSAC play thanks to its eighth-straight victory and first win over Concordia in three years. Concordia drops to 23-4 and 12-4 in conference play.
Senior Jessica Buffum led Biola with 15 kills while senior Kelsey Mitchell added 14. Mitchell, who has been battling a severe cold all day, hit an impressive .565 for the match with 14 kills and just one error in 23 total attacks.
The match was a tight one from start to finish with the stat sheet looking nearly identical for both teams. Biola trailed 2-1 after the first three sets and fell behind 13-10 early in the fourth. But a 9-1 run gave Biola a lead it would not relinquish and--despite a late rally by Concordia--Biola would force a fifth and deciding set.
In the fifth, Biola got off to a slow start, falling behind 9-4 after making four straight kills. However, Biola got the ball back on a Concordia error, then freshman Joy Talcott served out four-straight points to tie the match at 9-9. Biola then rattled off six of the next 10 points to complete the comeback with senior Meghan Warkentin recording the final kill.
Things started out well for Biola in the first set, breaking a 10-10 tie with a long 13-5 run and cruising to a 25-18 win. But Concordia came storming back in the second, breaking the set open early with a 7-0 run to go up 11-7, Biola closed the gap to 16-14, but Concordia responded with a 6-2 run and held on for a 25-21 victory.
In the third, Biola jumped out to a quick 11-8 lead before Concordia ran off six-straight points with four coming on blocks including three in a row. Biola came storming back late and managed to tie the score at 21-21. Moments later, a Buffum kill gave Biola set point at 24-23, but Concordia scored the next two points and eventually pulled out a 28-26 win.
Concordia received a match-high 19 kills from Stephanie Scheele and had 14 from Traci Weamer, who also added 25 digs and five blocks.
Neither team hit particularly well as both sides were strong on defense. Biola managed to hit .120 overall in the match while Concordia recorded a .106 attack percentage. Both teams committed 36 attack errors with Biola holding a slight 61-58 edge in total kills.
Concordia did hold a 15-12 advantage in blocks with Bailey Schade recording eight and Lauren Evans adding seven. Biola received eight from senior middle blocker Kristen Peterson with senior outside hitter Maggie McGill recording five including two solo.
Biola libero Kaite Stevens recorded 24 digs to pace Biola, which had five players reach double-figures. Both setters recorded double-doubles for Biola. Junior Abbie Wright had 27 assists and 14 digs while senior Christina Perkins added 19 assists and 10 digs.
Biola returns to action on Tuesday (Nov. 4) for what should be another exciting match, traveling to Fresno to take on top-ranked Fresno Pacific University at 7:00 p.m.
