LA MIRADA, Calif. -- Junior Christine Douglas had 13 kills, freshman Amy Weststeyn had 12 and both hit over .500 as No. 13 Biola battled to a 25-19, 33-31, 25-16 win over No. 21 Vanguard in a GSAC match on Thursday night at Chase Gymnasium.
The Eagles pick up their second-straight win to improve to 14-4 on the season and 2-0 in conference play while the Lions drop to 11-6 and 0-2 in the GSAC.
Douglas and Weststeyn led a solid offensive effort for Biola, which posted a team attack percentage of .368 in the match. Douglas had 13 kills in 21 attacks with just two errors (.524), adding two blocks and an ace. Weststeyn contributed 12 kills in 17 swings with just one error, posting the best attack percentage of any Biola player this year at .647.
Sophomore right-side hitter Chelsea Arnitz also posted a better-than-.500 attack percetage with nine kills in 17 attacks with no errors for a .529 attack percentage.
Biola trailed 8-6 early in the first set before using a 6-0 run to take a 12-8 lead. The Eagles slowly extended the lead to six at 18-12 only to see the Lions cut it to two with a quick run. After a timeout at 19-17, Biola went on a five-point run with two coming from senior
Sarah McAtee to take a commanding 24-17 lead and won 25-19.
The Eagles carried that momentum into the second set, opening a quick 6-1 lead and holding a seemingly comfortable lead at 20-12. But Vanguard came alive and used a 9-3 lead to make it a 23-21. A kill by junior
Rachel Buckley gave the Eagles game point, but the Lions fought off three-straight set points thanks to kills by Jamie Heenan to tie things up at 24-24 and start a wild finish.
Biola held the advantage for the next two point until Vanguard got two-straight points to go up 28-27. Vanguard then had three shots at set point, the last of which came at 31-30. But a block by Buckley and junior
Nicolette Mather tied the score and kills by McAtee and senior
Joy Talcott gave the Eagles the hard-fought, 33-31 victory.
The third set started a lot like the first with the Lions opening an 8-6 lead and stretching it to 10-7 before a Biola timeout. Out of the timeout, the Eagles scored seven-straight points to go up 14-10 and never looked back.
Christian Woodruff served those seven-straight and recorded two via service aces.
The Eagles remain home for their next two matches, hosting Hope International University on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in a GSAC tilt.
