IRVINE, Calif. --- Biola suffered a tough sweep to open the day but rebounded with a four-set win in the nightcap to earn a split on the final day of the Concordia University Labor Day Festival in Irvine.

The Eagles, ranked No. 6 in the NAIA preseason poll lost to Westminster College (Utah) 33-31, 26-24, 27-25 in the first match of the day, but pulled out a 25-20, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19 victory over Colorado Christian University to wrap up the tournament. Biola finishes the Labor Day Classic with a 3-1 mark and enters GSAC play with an overall mark of 7-3.

Sophomore Christine Douglas had a fantastic day, recording 46 kills in the two matches to give her 80 for the weekend. Senior Tavea Hampton added 27 kills and six blocks on the day.

The first match of the day was tough for the Eagles, who beat themselves with far to many errors for a close match. Biola committed 39 total errors to Westminster's 29 including a number in critical times of the match.

In the first set, the Griffins broke a 10-10 tie with a 7-2 run to take a lead at the midway point, but Biola rallied back and tied the match at 19-19. The teams went back and forth with the Eagles getting the first set point on a block by Hampton and senior Amy Mosebar. The teams would continue the see-saw battle until Westminster broke a 31-31 tie with two-straight points on Biola errors to take the set. Biola had seven total set-points, but could not manage to put the set away, committing errors on three of the set-points.

The Eagles fell behind early in the second set as the Griffins recorded four aces to take a quick 8-4 lead. Still trailing 11-7, Biola rallied with a 5-0 run thanks to strong serving by freshman Emily Weingartner. But Westminster responded with a 10-4 run to go up 21-17. Biola slowly chipped away at the lead and strong serving again by Weingartner helped the Eagles tie the set at 22-22. The teams went back and forth again until Ashley Merchant gave Westminster a 25-24 lead. Yet another error by the Eagles would give the Griffins the second set by a 26-24 count.

In the final set, Westminster roared out to an early 16-6 lead as Biola could do nothing right. After a second timeout, the Eagles came out firing again and eventually tied the score at 24-24 thanks to back-to-back kills by Douglas. But Ericka Evans closed out the match with a pair of her 10 kills to give Westminster the sweep. 

Hampton had the best numbers for the Eagles, recording 16 kills and no errors in 23 swings for a .696 attack percentage. It was the best hitting percentage by a Biola player since 2003 and the second-straight match she posted double-figure kills with no errors. She also added three blocks. Douglas contributed 20 kills.

In the second match, the Eagles played much better overall volleyball. Biola opened the first set with by breaking a 10-10 tie with a 10-3 run thanks in large part to three kills and two aces by Douglas. The Eagles would exchange points the rest of the way en route to a 25-20 win. 

The second set was more of the same, though the Cougars held an early 11-8 lead. Biola roared back in front with an 8-3 run, then after exchanging points for a bit, closed out the set by scoring five of the final six points to win 25-19.

Things appeared to be going well for the Eagles in the third as they built a 14-9 lead early on. But Colorado Christian used a 15-9 run to take a commanding 24-19 lead. Biola made things interesting with a quick four-point run to pull within one at 24-23, but Lauren Rosenthal closed out the set with a kill.

Biola made sure that the fourth set was a repeat of the third. The Eagles opened with an 11-4 run only to see Colorado Christian cut the lead to two at 16-14. Still leading by two at 21-19, Biola closed out the set with a pair of kills by Hampton, one from Douglas and a service ace by Mosebar.

Douglas again led the way with 26 kills, adding eight digs, four aces and three blocks. Hampton contributed 11 kills and three blocks while fellow middle blocker Rachel Buckley had four kills and seven blocks. 

The Eagles return to action on Tuesday (Sept. 7), opening GSAC play against Hope International University at Chase Gymnasium. First serve is slated for 7:00 p.m.