DOANE BOX SCORE
WESTMINSTER BOX SCORE

AZUSA, Calif. --- Biola opened the 2009 season with a split in a pair of matches at the Azusa Pacific Cougar Classic, losing a tough five-set match to No. 23 Doane College (Neb.) 23-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-20, 15-11 before cruising to an easy 25-17, 25-13, 25-18 sweep over Westminster College (Utah).

The Eagles, ranked No. 20 in the NAIA Preseason Poll, received 26 kills in the two matches from sophomore outside hitter Kim Russell and another 23 from senior middle blocker Kelsey Christoferson.

In the first match of the day, Biola got off to a quick start with a 25-23 win in the first game over Doane. The Eagles broke open an 8-7 game early with an 8-3 run to take a 16-11 lead. The Tigers fought back to close the gap to one at 19-18, but could get no closer as Biola pulled away late.

In the second set, Doane staked a quick 7-2 lead only to see it evaporate as the Eagles scored 11 of the next 15 points to go up 13-11. Biola looked to be on its way to a 2-0 lead in the match as a kill by Russell gave the Eagles a 23-20 edge late. However, it was the final point they would score as Doane recorded a sideout, then rattled off four-straight points to tie the match at 1-1.

Biola responded with a strong performance in the third set, hitting a match-high .262 and cruising to an easy 25-18 win to take the lead right back.

However, Doane again fought back in the fourth set. The Tigers jumped out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back, extending the lead to as many as eight on three occassions and holding off a late rally for the 25-20 victory.

In the fifth set, the two teams battled back and forth through the first half as neither team took a lead bigger than two points early on. Biola broke a 7-7 tie with a pair of points to take a 9-7 edge thanks to a kill by Tavea Hampton and a service ace by Janae O'Conner. But Doane responded again with a four-point run of its own to take an 11-9 lead only to see the Eagles respond and tie the score at 11-11.

The Tigers finally put the match away with four-straight points to close things out on a pair of kills, a block and a Biola attack error, winning the epic match in just over two hours.

Russell had a team-high 16 kills in the match and added six digs and a block. Christoferson added 15 kills and had just one hitting error, recording a .424 attack percentage and contributing a pair of blocks.

Freshman setter Justine Schoneveld had 50 assists, three kills and five digs in her collegiate debut, being forced into action after senior Abbie Wright suffered a foot injury during practice two weeks ago.

Sophomore middle blocker Tavea Hampton also had a strong match, adding 13 kills and three blocks including one solo.

After the long match, the Eagles had to come right back and face another tough opponent in Westminster College out of Utah. Biola had just about 15 minutes to rest up before returning to the court, but still managed to dominate the match.

The Eagles took control early, rattling off an 11-2 run to go up 15-8 thanks to strong serving by junior Lindsey Dietzen and sophomore Joy Talcott. Biola would cruise the rest of the way to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

In the second set, the two teams were locked in a close battle through the first half of the game before Biola broke things wide open. Leading 15-13, Dietzen again came on strong, serving out the final 10 points of the match including three aces. She was helped along by Christoferson, who added three of her eight kills in the final run.

The Eagles played tough defense in the third set, holding Westminster to a .025 attack percentage, never trailing in the match and cruising to an easy 25-18 win.

Biola finished the match with a .240 attack percentage, but held the Griffins to just .076 overall.

Freshman outside hitter Nicolette Mather recorded a match-high 11 kills and hit .391 in the contest. Russell was not too far behind with 10 kills.

Schoneveld set well for the second-straight match, recording 37 assists and adding three blocks, five digs and two kills.

Biola returns to action on Saturday morning, taking on Corban College (Ore.) and Eastern Oregon University to round out the Cougar Classic.