COSTA MESA, Calif. --- Biola's recent struggles especially in close sets continued as No. 21 Vanguard pulled off a 25-19, 26-28, 31-29, 25-21 upset victory over the 12th-ranked Eagles in a GSAC match on Saturday night at The Pit.
The Eagles suffer their fifth loss in their last seven matches and drop to 17-9 on the season and to 5-5 in GSAC play. The Lions' fortunes are heading in the opposite direction as they pick up their third-straight win and improve to 17-8 and are now 6-4 in the conference.
Nicolette Mather led Biola with 14 kills, added four blocks and a .323 attack percentage. However, she was one of the bright spots for the Eagles in the match as the team hit just .143 while committing 31 attack errors. The Lions posted a .298 attack percentage with Jamie Heenan recorded 22 kills and KaUwila Lavea added 20 kills.
In the first set, the Lions used a 9-3 run to take a 16-10 lead. Biola cut the lead to three a few points later only to see Vanguard pull away late and take the first set 25-19. The Eagles committed 10 attack errors with six of those being into the net or out of bounds.
Biola fell behind 12-6 early in the second set, but started to rally with a 16-7 run which made it a 22-19 Eagle lead. The Lions hung around and eventually took a 24-23 lead on a Heenan kill. However, Biola fought off three set points and took its first lead late with a solo block by
Christine Douglas, then tied the match with a service ace by
Justine Schoneveld to win 28-26.
In the third set, Biola rolled to a 17-12 lead and cotinued to lead late at 23-19. Vanguard closed the gap with a three-point run but gave Biola set point after a service error. The Lions fought off two set points and again the set went past 24 points. Up 26-25, Biola had a chance to put the set away but another unforced error by the Eagles extended the set. Vanguard would eventually get a kill by Heenen followed by a Biola attack error to win 31-29.
The Lions roared out to a 15-8 lead in the fourth set and appeared to be ready to cruise to an easy victory. The Eagles, however, came alive and used an 11-3 run to take a 19-18 lead on a Mather kill. But Vanguard closed out the set by scoring seven of the final nine points to win the set 25-21 and the match in four.
Close sets have been tough for the Eagles, who have been having trouble putting sets away. Biola is 3-10 in the 13 sets which have gone past 25 points and the second-set win today was one of just seven in the last three weeks.
Biola looks to get back on track on Tuesday, traveling to Fullerton to take on Hope International University at 7:00 p.m.
