Box Score HIGHLIGHTS & INTERVIEWS
LA MIRADA, Calif. --- There was some hesitation and cause for concern when Hope International forced Biola to use three different set points to secure a tight second set, but eventually Biola got those points and more in a sweep (25-13, 28-26, 25-12) of the Royals in Chase Gymnasium.
"We needed to be little bit more diligent at the net, I think we lost a few points there," said Head Coach
Aaron Seltzer. "Give Hope credit though, they took advantage of it, played tough and battled hard."
Aside from the middle set, the match was very smooth for the No. 6 Eagles, thanks in large part to some fantastic defensive play and solid passing yet again.
Biola ended the match with 41 digs, to HIU's 30, and
Alex Brehaut was sprawling all over the hardwood and earned herself a total of 14 digs. She has been fantastic in her first season as the Eagles' libero, earning double-digit digs in all but three matches so far.
"Tonight we passed very well. The combination of our four passers being lights out tonight and us doing very well blocking helped us be scrappy tonight," said Seltzer.
The strong passing again set up Biola's setting tandem for success. They pair of
Ashton Arbuthnot and
Allison Spencer combined for 36 assists, with just one setting error. Arbuthnot added three service aces to complete a solid fundamental effort from the Eagles.
"It was great to get three aces tonight," said Arbuthnot. "The team really stood behind me when I was serving, and my assists all come from my hitters who did a great job tonight."
Amy Weststeyn and
Alyssa Mason yet again formed a deadly duo on the attack, combining for 19 kills on a night when Biola only needed to earn 39 kills thanks to 34 points coming from HIU attacking, setting, serving or blocking errors. Weststeyn again led the way by roping in a hitting percentage of .474. She is currently second in the NAIA with a .444 cumulative hitting percentage.
Both teams ended the night with six blocks. Weststeyn was involved in all six of the Eagles', ending with a solo block and five block assists.
The Eagles flew through the first set and the third set, but had a little trouble shaking off a pesky Hope International squad in the middle. The Royals capitalized on two Biola attacking errors and a kill from Ariana Izadmanesh to steal points on back-to-back-to-back set points, but eventually HIU had consecutive service errors and the Eagles were able to steal the set, 28-26.
"Long sets are always difficult because they go one forever and are really exhausting," said Arbuthnot. "After that long one our team fired up and got some energy coming back, so we were able to finish up strong, which was great."
The win helps Biola improve to 12-3 (2-0 GSAC) and drops the Royals to 4-6 (0-1 GSAC). Biola has a week to prepare for its next match, which will likely be its toughest challenge to date. Biola hosts the No. 3 Concordia Eagles (14-1, 2-0 GSAC) next Saturday at 7 p.m. inside Chase Gym.
"We are almost there," said Seltzer. "We are getting there."
