Box Score FULLERTON, Calif. --- The second round of Golden State Athletic Conference play kicked off strong for No. 5 Biola, as it worked its way to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-21) win over Hope International on Saturday night.
 
It was a welcome return to form for the Eagles, who struggled to put away Westmont in their last match. Although it was a clean sweep it was not all easy for Biola, as the Royals pushed hard to stay close in the final two sets.
 
"Hope International started really playing well at the end," said Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. "They defended well and really pressured us. Amy Weststeyn and Lauren Hoenecke were our saving grace, again."
 
The Eagles' two middles seem to be getting all of the attention as of late, but it is very well deserved. They continue to get fantastic sets from Biola's setters and have the instinct to know exactly what to do with the ball when they get it.
 
Weststeyn executed with impact all night long, crushing the ball for a match-high 16 kills and making just one attacking error to hit .652. She's on a streak of solid performances that illustrate exactly why she was last season's Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
 
Hoenecke has been keeping up with Weststeyn with phenomenal performances over the past month. It is no easy task to keep up with Biola's senior standout, but Hoenecke is excelling. She hit 10 kills tonight and also picked up a block assist on what was a relatively low blocking night for Biola's bigs.
 
Part of Biola's dominance early in the match was it's ability to adjust and recover whenever it did make a mistake and concede a point to the Royals. The Eagles held Hope International to an average sideout percentage of 45 percent in the first two sets.
 
"We played great for the first 70 percent of the match, but we kind of let it get away from us at the end," said Seltzer.
 
Biola held the lead from wire-to-wire in the first set, with the only tie score coming at 0-0 and HIU never holding a lead, but an improved sideout percentage and an attack percentage in the .200s helped Hope International get to the 20s in sets two and three.
 
Biola improves to another 2-0 record against HIU and moves to 18-4 (8-1 GSAC). They remain in second place in the conference headed into the most important match of the season to date. The Eagles face No. 3 Concordia on the road Tuesday night.