LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola sure picked a good time to pick up its first five-set win of the season. Not only did the Eagles rally from a 2-1 deficit and pull out their first five-set victory of the season, but they also gave Head Coach
Aaron Seltzer career win No. 250 as Biola upset arch-rival and No. 7-ranked Azusa Pacific in five in the final regular-season conference match between the two long-time foes on Tuesday night.
The Eagles, ranked No. 14 in the latest NAIA National Poll, improve to 19-10 on the season and improve to 7-6 in GSAC play with the much-needed win. The Cougars, who are leaving the GSAC to join the NCAA Division II ranks next year, fall to 22-6 and to 9-4 in the conference.
The victory was No. 250 for Head Coach Aaron Seltzer, who--in his 10th season of coaching the Eagles--is already the winningest coach in program histry. His overall record is 250-94 for an impressive .727 winning percentage, which ranks among the Top 10 active coaches in the NAIA ranks.
The night belonged in large part to freshman middle blocker Amy Weststeyn, who recorded 12 kills but also established a school record with 11 blocks in a five-set victory--just one short of the overall record. Christine Douglas had a solid night as well, adding a team-high 16 kills and had six blocks including two solo. Overall, the Eagles tallied 15 blocks in the match, recording 10 or more for the eighth time in the last 11 matches.
Biola's block and solid attack percentage helped offset some impressive defense by Azusa Pacific, which had 79 digs and eight blocks. Jackie Landers led the Cougars with 18 kills while Marguerite Hanna added 16.
Things got off to a great start in the first set for the Eagles who jumped out to an early 12-5 lead and cruised from there. Biola allowed Azusa Pacific to score back-to-back points just once in the set--both coming with Biola already holding set-point. The Eagles posted a .545 attack percentage and committed just two attack errors in the set.
But the Cougars came out firing in the second set and roared out to an early 11-3 lead. Biola rallied back and cut the lead to two at 16-14 and eventually tied the set at 22-22 thanks to back-to-back kills by Douglas and another by Nicolette Mather. But the Eagles committed a pair of errors on the next two rallies to give Azusa Pacific set point and the Cougars put the set away with a kill by Whitney Radcliffe.
The Cougars used the momentum from the close win to jump out to an early lead in the third set, breaking a 4-4 tie with an 11-4 run to take command. Azusa would continue rolling with Biola making things a bit more respectable late. However, the set belonged to the Cougars from start to finish with the visitors hitting .333 to Biola's .114 attack percentage.
The Eagles weren't quite ready to quit, though. Despite falling behind early, Biola used a long run to take an 11-8 lead on kills by Mather and Weststeyn and an APU error. The Cougars would cut the lead to two at 16-14 and then went on a 6-1 run to go on top 20-17. Biola rallied again with five-straight points capped by back-to-back blocks by Weststeyn and Chelsee Arnitz to go up 22-20 only to see APU rally back and take a 23-22 lead.
Biola had the first shot at winning the set after kills from Weststeyn and Douglas made it 24-23. But Azusa Pacific used a kill by Christy Cain and a Biola error to set up match-point. Arnitz saved the match for the Eagles with a big kill and the teams went back and forth for a few points. Tied at 27-27, the Eagles ended the drama with kills from Nicolette Mather and Sarah McAtee to end the set.
But for the first time this year, the fifth set proved to be all Biola. The Cougars scored the first point, but Biola scored five of the next six to take an early 5-2 led. The Eagles would stretch the lead to five at 10-5 and despite the Cougars pulling back to within two points, rallied back to go up 14-9. Azusa Pacific cut the gap with a few points late, but Douglas found a seam and ended the match with a kill.
McAtee finished the match with 10 kills while Mather added 11 kills. Both had a pair of blocks on the night. Emily Weingartner had a team-best 18 digs with Joy Talcott contributing 13 with Christian Woodruff recording 12.
The match was the final in a long, storied GSAC rivalry between Azusa Pacific and Biola, though the two teams likely will continue to play regular-season matches against each other for the foreseeable future. The Eagles are 48-30 all-time against the Cougars and have now won eight of the last 11 matches in the series.
Biola hopes to ride this victory as its takes on its third-straight NAIA Top 10 team, hosting No. 1-ranked University of Texas-Brownsville on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. Biola then closes out the week with a GSAC match on Saturday against Westmont College beginning at 1:00 p.m.
