BOX SCORE

SIOUX CITY, Iowa --- Senior outside hitter Jessica Buffum had a match-high 17 kills and posted a .571 hitting percentage as Biola advanced to the final four with a 25-18, 25-14, 25-17 win over No. 10 Northwestern University (Iowa) in a quarterfinal match at the NAIA National Championships on Friday night.

The Eagles, who are making their second-straight appearance in the NAIA Quarterfinals, improve to 31-3 on the season with the victory and remain a perfect 4-0 at the tournament thus far. The Red Raiders wrap up their season with a 30-9 record.

Biola completely dominated Northwestern from start to finish, outhitting the Raiders .354 to .093 in the match. Buffum was on fire during the entire match, committing just one hitting error in 28 swings, recording 17 kills and adding 11 digs. Senior outside hitters Meghan Warkentin and Kelsey Mitchell each added nine kills with Warkentin contributing four blocks and Mitchell posting a .471 attack percentage.

The Eagles got off to a bit of a slow start, trailing 13-11 midway through the first set. But a Buffum kill gave Biola the ball back and Maggie McGill served four straight points thanks to kills by Warkentin, Mitchell and Kelsey Christoferson and a block by Warkentin and Mitchell. The Red Raiders would close within one at 16-15, but Biola again recorded a side out followed by three straight kills from Buffum to take control and not look back.

In the second set, the Eagles started to heat up, jumping out to a quick 13-5 lead which included six-straight points served by junior setter Abbie Wright. The Raiders closed the gap to five at 15-10, but would score seven of the next eight points capped by a pair of blocks by Warkentin and Christoferson to go up 22-11. Biola held Northwestern to a -.029 attack percentage in the set while posting an impressive .343 attack percentage. 

The final set was more of the same for Biola which took a 8-7 lead and quickly ballooned it into a 13-7 lead on strong serving by Buffum. The Raiders closed the gap to 14-13 and trailed 16-15 just a few points later. But Biola would respond by scoring nine of the final 11 points to end the match.

Junior libero Katie Stevens had another strong match for the Eagles, recording 14 digs and adding an assist to lead the Biola defense. She now has 72 digs in 14 sets in the tournament, averaging 5.14 per set.

For the second-straight season, the final four teams in the tournament all hail from the GSAC. The Eagles will face off against a familiar foe in No. 3 Concordia University in the second semifinal. Concordia downed GSAC foe Point Loma Nazarene in three games to advance out of the quarterfinals. The other semifinal will pit No. 1 Fresno Pacific against No. 4 California Baptist. Both teams dispatched of their opponents in three games.