INDIANA TECH BOX SCORE
CARROLL BOX SCORE

IRVINE, Calif. --- After struggling through two matches on Friday, sophomore outside hitter Kim Russell responded with a stellar performance on Saturday, recording 32 kills to lead Biola to a pair of wins over tough opponents in the final day of the Concordia Labor Day Festival.

The Eagles, who are ranked no. 20 in the NAIA Preseason Poll, improve to 9-2 on the season and win all four matches at the Concordia Tournament. Biola opened the day with a 25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 25-20 upset win over No. 17 Indiana Tech. The Eagles closed out the day with a 25-16, 25-18, 25-22 victory over Carroll College (Mont.).

Russell had a monster day with 32 kills and a .413 attack percentage. The sophomore saved her best performance for last, recording 13 kills in 20 swings with just one error for an impressive .600 attack percentage.

Freshman outside hitter Nicollete Mather added 26 kills in the two matches to help the offensive attack.

Biola and indiana Tech (4-4) played a thriller in the first match of the day, going back-and-forth throughout. The first set featured 14 ties and nine lead changes. The final tie of the set came at 21-21as the Eagles knotted the game thanks to a kill by junior middle blocker Tavea Hampton. From there, sophomore defensive specialist Amy Mosebar took over with strong serving and great defense. After an attack error put Biola up 22-21, Mosebar helped her own cause with a kill and followed it up with a service ace to give the Eagles set point. Russell then wrapped up the set with a kill and the Eagles went up 1-0 in the match.

in the second set, Biola jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead, but it quickly evaporated as the Warriors mounted a run and tied the score at 7-7. Indiana Tech kept the pressure on and built its lead to 15-11 before the Eagles knotted things up with a 4-0 run on more strong serving by Mosebar and a pair of kills by Russell. Biola then broke a 17-17 tie with an 8-1 run to close out the game and give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.

Indiana Tech answered back by taking the third set, using a brief 4-0 run to snap a 14-14 tie and held on for the 25-20 victory

However, the Eagles answered back with a strong showing in the fourth set. Trailing 13-11 midway through the set, Biola came out of a timeout and rattled of a 12-3 run to take control and seal the deal.

Freshman setter Justine Schoneveld recorded 50 assists in the match, adding three kills, two digs and an ace for the Eagles. Russell had 19 kills in the match while Mather added 12.

In the second match of the day, Biola played strong defense and strong serving to hold off Carroll (8-4).

The Eagles played their best set in the opener. Leading 7-6 early on, Biola used an 11-2 run to take a 10-point lead and cruise to the victory.

The offense was clicking again in the second game, though the game was a see-saw battle early. Biola broke a 15-15 tie with a 6-0 run, highlighted by a pair of kills by Mather and senior middle blocker Kelsey Christoferson. Carroll cut the lead to three at 21-18, but the Eagles got the ball back with another Christoferson kill and closed out the set with a pair of kills by Mather and a solo block by Hampton.

Biola looked to be in danger of losing the third set as Carroll rallied back from a 19-17 deficit to take a 22-19 lead. However, back-to-back kills by Hampton brought the Eagles back to within one and Schoneveld recorded a service ace to tie the score at 22. Biola then took advantage of three-straight Carroll errors to close out the match.

Mather had 14 kills while Russell had 13 to pace the Eagles in the match while Christoferson added eight and Hampton had seven. Hampton also had four blocks including two solo.

The tournament signals the end of non-conference play for Biola. The Eagles now enter play in the toughest conference in the NAIA: The Golden State Athletic Conference. The GSAC sent seven teams to the NAIA Championships last season and currently have seven ranked in the NAIA's Top 25 including five in the Top 10.

Up first on the docket is a match against Hope International University on Tuesday (Sept. 8) in Fullerton at 7:00 p.m.