ORANGE CITY, Iowa --- Biola split a pair of matches on the opening day of the Northwestern College Red Raider Classic, sweeping No. 17 Bellevue University to start the afternoon before falling in an epic five-game match to host No. 5 Northwestern.
The Eagles, ranked No. 6 in the NAIA preseason poll, swept the Bruins 25-19, 25-13, 25-18, but lost to the Red Raiders
22-25, 25-19, 15-25, 25-23, 15-11.
In the first game, senior middle blocker
Tavea Hampton and sophomore outside hitter
Christine Douglas each recorded 12 kills to pace the Eagles. Hampton had an impressive 12 kills with no errors in 19 swings for a .632 hitting percentage, and has committed just one hitting error this season in 40 attacks.
The match got off to a bit of a rocky start as the Bruins jumped out to a quick 6-3 lead thanks to a couple of big blocks. But the Eagles rallied back and used a 7-2 run of their own to go up 10-8. The set stayed close with Bellevue pulling to within on at 18-17 on a Biola attack error before the Eagles rattled off three-straight points to pull away.
Biola played nearly flawless volleyball in the second set, hitting .462 as a team and not allowing Bellevue to record two-straight points. Hampton was 5-for-6 in attack attempts and added two blocks with Douglas contributing five kills as well.
The two teams stayed a lot closer in the third game. Midway through the set, Bellevue used a four-point run to cut the deficit to 12-10 and still trailed by two a few points later when Biola pulled away. The Eagles used a 7-1 run to go up 21-14 and exchanged points the rest of the way to win the match.
Senior setter
Abbie Wright had a strong match for Biola, recording 22 assists and 13 digs to go along with her two kills. Fellow setter, freshman
Gracee Gallarda, added 13 assists and seven digs.
In the evening, a large crowd packed the Bultman Center and were treated to an epic clash. Douglas had an impressive evening, recording a .630 attack percentage with 17 kills and no errors in 27 swings. She also added three digs, one block and one assist.
Kim Russell added 15 kills and 10 blocks for the Eagles.
However, the Red Raiders had five players in double-figures and tipped and dumped the ball around the Biola defense.
In the first set, the Eagles quickly quieted the crowd, scoring the first six points and never turning back. Northwestern closed the gap to two on a few occasions, but was unable to get any closer as Biola took the early 1-0 lead with a 25-22 win.
The second set started out as a back-and-forth affair until the Eagles broke a 10-10 tie with a quick 4-1 run to force a Northwestern timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Red Raiders went on a 6-0 to take control of the set. The two teams went back to the back-and-forth style to close out the set and tie up the match.
Biola absolutely dominated the third set, jumping out to a 12-6 lead.Northwestern closed the gap a bit to 12-10, before the Eagles rattled off a six-point run to pull away and closed out the set with a 7-2 run to win 25-15.
However, the Red Raiders rode the momentum of the huge crowd to jump out to a big lead in the fourth game, breaking a 10-10 tie with 7-1 run to take a big lead. But the Eagles chipped away and eventually tied the game at 23-23 on a big kill by
Nicolette Mather. However Northwestern rattled off a pair of kills from Kate Buyert to win the set and tie the match.
The deciding set start out with the team exchanging points until Northwestern broke a 6-6 tie with three-straight points on the back of two Biola errors. The Eagles again chipped away to close within one at 11-10, but Northwestern closed on a 4-1 run to win the match.
Biola returns to the court on Saturday to close out the match, facing No. 4 Lee University (Tenn.) and local favorite Dordt College (Iowa). The first match begins at 9:00 a.m. PT with the second following immediately after the conclusion.
