LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola women's tennis played host to the No. 33 McPherson Bulldogs on Tuesday, and the Eagles dropped a close match 6-3 to fall to 3-11 on the season.
 
The Eagles were again playing shorthanded and with a radically different lineup as they were missing some key components to their singles and doubles attack.

The players did a great job of filling in the holes as they fought to remain close in each set throughout the nearly four-hour match.
 
"It was a tough one today, but at least we know we have the potential of being a contender at the national level," said Head Coach Dee Henry.
 
Biola won matches at No. 2 and No. 6 singles and breezed through No. 3 doubles with the biggest margin of victory of any of the three doubles matches (8-2).
 
Paige Erickson and Lauren Vogel combined to get their third win of the season as a pairing, improving to 3-1 overall. It was just their second time playing together since Feb. 18, but it seemed as if they have been playing together everyday. That is the power of practice.
 
"Great positioning and setup by their partner is what enabled Lauren and Paige to dominate at the net," said Henry. "The other doubles were also very competitive."
 
Biola's No. 1 and No. 2 doubles pairings fought in 8-5 losing efforts.
 
The singles competition was also very intense, with Biola getting at least one point in every set. Olivia Carreon was the only student-athlete on the afternoon to shutout her opponent in a set. She won at No. 6 singles in straight-sets (6-2, 6-0).
 
She improved to 3-2 on the season with the win, with each of the wins coming in the No. 6 slot.
 
"Livi took the first match of the day for Biola," said Henry. "She played with consistency and placed the ball out of reach of her opponent."
 
Susan Carmichael continued her stron display of individual effort on the season with another win at the No. 2 slot. Outside of Kathryn Ashford, she has been the most consistent singles player on the season with six wins. She also has six doubles wins to put her one behind for the team lead in match victories.
 
Today she dismantled Nichole Vorhees in straight-sets (6-4, 7-6) to inch Biola closer to the comeback it never secured. The second set was just her second set to go to tiebreaker across all 26 of her matches this season.
 
"Susan won the first set and then was down 1-4 in the second set before coming all the way back to win the tiebreak 7-4," said Henry. "Her patience, consistency and fight were too much for her opponent."
 
Biola has another chance to break its three-match losing streak with a 3 p.m. showdown with Whitman College at the Biola Tennis Center on Wednesday.