Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 ASHLAND, Ore. ---
Christine Douglas recorded 27 kills and eight blocks while
Amy Weststeyn added 17 kills as Biola split two matches to open the 2012 season, sweeping Viterbo (Wisc.) before falling in five to host Southern Oregon University at the SOU Classic on Friday.
The Eagles (1-1) opened the season with a 25-23, 25-14, 25-20 win over the V-Hawks (0-1), but despite holding match-point in the second match of the day, fell 19-25, 25-20, 19-25, 26-24, 15-11 to the Raiders (2-0).
Against Viterbo, Biola got off to a quick start, using a six-point run to take an early 7-3 lead in the first set. The Eagles maintained the lead through the next stretch, holding a 15-10 lead near the midway point. But the V-Hawks responded with a quick six-point run to take a 16-15 lead and set up a thrilling finish.
Neither team would lead by more than one down the stretch with Viterbo rattling off back-to-back kills to take a late 23-22 lead. After a Biola timeout, the Eagles came out firing and tied the score on a kill by Douglas. Biola then took the match thanks to solid play from Arnitz, who came up with a big solo block, then slammed home the winner to give Biola the set, 25-23.
The Eagles slowly built a lead early in the second set, using a 6-1 run to take a 14-6 lead. Viterbo again rallied back and rattled off five-straight points to make it a 14-11 game. After ending the rally and exchanging points with the V-Hawks, Biola closed out the set with a 10-2 with Arnitz recording two kills and block to lead the way to a 25-14 win.
Biola fell behind to start the third set, trailing 8-6 after a five-point Viterbo run. The Eagles scored six of the next nine points to take back the lead and did not relinquish it the rest of the way. The V-Hawks would keep the score close down the stretch, trailing by just two at 22-20. But behind Weststeyn, the Eagles rattled off three-straight points book-ended by a kill and block from the All-American to win 25-20.
Douglas led everyone with 10 kills in the match, adding three blocks. Arnitz had eight kills and four blocks--three solo--from the right-side to pace the Eagles' attack. Weststeyn adding six kills in 10 swings with no errors and two blocks.
Senior middle blocker Rachel Buckley aided the block party with six blocks including three solo as part of Biola's 12 team blocks.
Junior libero Emily Weingartner had 17 digs to lead the Eagles while Gracee Gallarda added a team-high 18 assists.
In the second match of the day, Biola ran up against a tough opponent in Southern Oregon, which finished in the Top 10 last season, but was not ranked in the NAIA Preseason Top 10 as its conference rater missed a key NAIA deadline.
After a back and forth start to the match, the Eagles trailed 12-11, but scored seven of the next eight points to take a commanding 18-13 lead in the set. They would not look back cruising to a 25-19 win to go up 1-0.
Southern Oregon battled back in the second set, leading from start to finish to tie the match with a 25-20 win.
The Eagles regained the advantage in the third set, breaking an 18-18 tie by scoring seven of the final eight points with freshman Britta Blaser recording the kill on set point as Biola won 25-19.
In the fourth, the Eagles held a brief lead at 9-6 early on but neither team would lead by more than two the rest of the way. Exchanging points through much of the rest of the match, Biola looked to have the edge, getting match point on a kill from Douglas, who found the middle of the court with a roll shot over the block. However, Mona Goudarzian would get the Raiders even with a kill--her fifth-straight for SOU.
After a long rally, the Eagles would go back to Douglas, but her attack attempt came up short and into the net, giving the Raiders set point. Southern Oregon would then block an attack by Arnitz to storm back and take the fourth set 26-24.
Biola net got going in the fifth set, falling behind 6-4 early in the set and trailing 8-5 at the changeover. After the Raiders got to match point at 14-9, the Eagles rallied with two quick points to make it 14-11, but could not keep a rally going on the next point and lost the match.
In the fifth set, Biola committed five attack errors and two service errors to provide seven points for the Raiders. Overall, the Eagles hit just .194, losing despite holding Southern Oregon to a .168 attack percentage.
Douglas again led the Eagles with 17 kills, contributing a team-high five blocks. Weststeyn added 11 kills but hit just .273 in the match after posting a .600 attack percentage in the morning contest.
Goudarzian finished with 22 kills to lead all players and added 10 digs for a double-double.
Biola returns to the court on Saturday to close out the season-opening tournament. The Eagles take on UC Merced at 2:00 p.m., then wrap up the trip against Oregon Tech at 6:00 p.m. Both matches can be seen online thanks to Southern Oregon at http://www.livestream.com/souraiders with live stats offered at http://www.sidearmstats.com/sou/wvball/scoreboard.aspx.
