LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola played poorly to open the match, but rallied back in the final three sets to defeat Vanguard 15-25, 25-26, 25-10, 25-19 behind 26 kill by sophomore Christine Douglas in a GSAC match on Thursday night at Chase Gymnasium.

The Eagles, ranked No. 3 in the latest NAIA National Poll, improve to 14-4 on the season with their fifth-straight victory, moving to 7-1 in conference play. The Lions fall to 10-6 and to 2-5 in the GSAC.

Douglas had a fantastic match for the Eagles, recording 26 kills—24 in the final three sets—and posting a .434 attack percentage with seven digs and a block on the night. Senior middle blocker Tavea Hampton added 10 kills in 15 swings with one error to post a .600 or better attack percentage for the fourth time this season.

Biola played by far its worst set of the season to start off the match, committing 13 attack errors and hitting negative in a set for just the second time this year. The Eagles had seven kills on 13 errors for a -.154 attack percentage.

The Eagles started out with a slight 6-4 edge when the wheels came off. Vanguard used an 8-1 run, the last three points of which came off Biola errors, to go up 11-7, Biola closed the gap to three at 16-13 a bit later, but four-straight attack errors started a 9-2 run which gave the Lions the first set at 25-15.

However, the Eagles returned to normal in the second set, breaking a 4-4 tie with a 7-2 run to take an 11-6 lead early. Vanguard closed the gap to three at 14-11, but Biola quickly scored four-straight thanks to kills by Douglas and Hampton to go up 18-11. The Eagles would cruise from there to tie the match at one set apiece.

Biola had everything working right in the third set as the team did not commit a hitting error en route to the easy win. Leading 7-6, the Eagles used a 9-1 run to take a commanding 16-7 lead and wound up rolling to a 25-10 victory in the set. Douglas had nine kills in 12 swings while Hampton added three kills in four attacks to lead Biola.

The Eagles kept the momentum going into the fourth set, quickly opening up an 8-3 lead. Vanguard closed to within three at 9-4, but could get no closer the rest of the set as Biola continued to pull away. The Lions made one final attempt to close the gap, using a quick three-point run to cut the lead to 20-16. But Biola responded with a kill from Douglas on an overpass followed by a kill by Kim Russell to take control.

Overall, the Eagles wound up hitting .199 in the match, committing just 10 hitting errors in the final three sets after 13 in the first. Biola also had nine aces while Vanguard did not record one for the first time this season. Senior setter Abbie Wright had five of them, adding 23 assists, nine digs and a kill. 

Jamie Heenan led the Lions with 15 kills while Lisa Morgan added nine kills and 15 digs. Candace Cedarstrom recorded six kills and added six blocks including three solo.

Biola returns to action on Friday (Oct. 1), traveling to Orange to face Chapman University in a non-conference match beginning at 7:00 p.m. The Eagles return to GSAC play on Tuesday (Oct. 5), taking on San Diego Christian College in El Cajon at 7:00 p.m.