ORANGE CITY, Iowa --- After playing an epic five-set match on Friday night, Biola returned to the courts 13 hours later and play another pair of five-setters, losing to No. 4 Lee University (Tenn.) and beating Dordt College (Iowa) to close out the Northwestern Red Raider Classic on Saturday.
The Eagles, ranked No. 6 in the NAIA Preseason Poll, wrap up the tournament with a 2-2 record and sit at 4-2 on the season.
Biola opened the long day with a tough loss to No. 4 Lee University (Tenn.) in what was billed as the match of the week in the NAIA. The Eagles were able to rally from a 2-0 deficit, but were unable to hold a late lead in the fifth set and lost 25-18, 25-14, 18-25, 23-25, 15-13.
Just 15 minutes after the completion of the first match, the Eagles return to the court and went the distance for the third time in as many matches. Biola dug itself out of a number of holes to defeat local favorite Dordt College 22-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 15-12.
Sophomore outside hitter Christine Douglas had a monster day, recording 51 kills on the day, recording 28 against Dordt and 23 against Lee.
Biola got off to an awful start to the day, still emotionally drained after a tough five-set loss the night before to host Northwestern. The Eagles hung tough with the Lady Flames through most of the first set, tying the score at 14-14 on a kill by senior Amy Mosebar. But Lee pulled away with a quick 8-2 run which was aided by three-straight Biola hitting errors to go up 22-16, and closed it out moments later.
The Eagles fell behind 2-0 after an abismal second game which saw Lee outscore Biola 19-6 over the second half of the set and cruise to an easy 25-14 win.
Biola refused to give up and fought back with its best set of the tournament, jumping out to a quick 10-2 lead and leading 16-6 at the midway point. The Eagles would not commit a hitting error until very late in the set and hit .539 overall to take the third set.
In the fourth set, Lee got the early advantage as back-to-back aces by Arlene Ferreira put the team up 9-6. The Eagles still trailed by three at 17-14, but used a 5-1 run keyed by two kills by sophomore Nicolette Mather to take a 19-18 lead. The set would remain close the rest of the way and was tied at 23-23 before an attack error by Lee and a big kill by sophomore Rachel Buckley tied the match at 2-2.
The decisive set was decided by scoring runs. Biola fell behind 7-4 early and trailed by four at 10-6 midway through. However, the Eagles mounted a quick four-point run to tie the score only to see Lee respond with two quick points to go back on top. After getting a sideout thanks to a kill by Mather, Biola took a decisive 13-12 thanks to a block by senior Tavea Hampton and Mosebar and a kill by Douglas. But Lee would get a sideout on a kill by Stephanie Todd and wrapped up the match with two quick points.
Douglas led the way offensively with 23 kills with Hampton adding nine and Mosebar contributing eight. Hampton also added a team-high seven blocks.
After grabbing their bags and running to the other gymnasium, Biola started its match against Dordt College just 15 minutes after the conclusion of the first. A rested Dordt side took advantage and got the drop on the Eagles, taking the first set 25-22. The Eagles, who trailed through must of the set, rallied back to tie the score at 22-22 only to see Dordt score three of the final four points on kills to take the set.
Biola slowly built a 12-6 lead in the second set, but saw it vanish quickly as Dordt used an 11-1 run to go up 17-13. Seven of the points over that run came on Biola hitting errors, but the Eagles calmed down after a timeout and tied the game at 19-19 with a 6-2 run. The set remained close with Dordt going up 23-22 on a kill. However, it was Biola which scored the final three points--two on kills by Douglas--to tie the set.
In the third set, Dordt used a quick 4-0 run to take a 13-10 lead and never looked back, trading points with the Eagles most of the rest of the way to go back on top 2-1.
Biola, though extremely tired, turned it on in the fourth set, breaking an 11-11 tie with a 5-1 run to take a comfortable 16-12 lead. After Dordt closed the gap to two, the Eagles put the set away with an eight-point run and cruised to a 25-19 victory.
The fifth set did not start out well for the winded Eagles, who fell behind 6-2 early and trailed 8-3 at the change-over. Still down 10-6, Biola came alive, scoring seven-straight points to go up 13-10 and exchanged points the rest of the way, wrapping up the match with a monster kill by Hampton.
Douglas again led the offense with 28 kills with Hampton adding 12 and three blocks. The Eagles had an impressive 13 aces including two by senior Abbie Wright in the fifth set.
Biola returns to action on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 3-4) taking part in the Concordia University Labor Day Festival in Irvine. The Eagles open against the University of Great Falls (Mont.) at 1:00 p.m. on Friday.
