Box Score
SIOUX CITY, Iowa --- In a sport like volleyball the thought of playing the same opponent two times in a handful of days is not a comforting one because of the advanced scouting in the game today.
 
That is what made Friday morning's single-elimination opening round match against No. 21 Madonna a bit of a nerve-wracking one for No. 5 Biola Volleyball. In the end though the Eagles actually ended up performing even better than their 3-1 win against the Crusaders from Tuesday as they worked a 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-19) win and punched their ticket to the tournament quarterfinals.

"I loved the match," said Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. "It's really hard to beat a team twice, especially in a short time. We were really worried about them having seen us play a little bit, but i could not be more proud."
 
It was all Biola all the time throughout the first set as the Eagles blocked their hearts out in holding Madonna to just 15 points in a set where an early run helped BU maintain a 6-10 point advantage throughout.
 
Biola took an 8-3 advantage to begin the match and the tone was set early on as the first point came from an Alyssa Mason solo block right up the middle. Each of the first five points of the match came off blocks (three for BU and two for MU). The Eagles would go on to have six of their 11 blocks in the first set.
 
Britta Blaser was the other early story as the senior outside hitter began her match with seven kills on her first nine swings to carry the team through the beginning stages of the match.
 
The second set went fairly similar to the first and actually ended with an identical score of 25-15. For a while it looked as if it would not end up that close as the Eagles reached 20 points in the set before the Crusaders got out of single digits.
 
The performance by Lauren Hoenecke was a big reason the Eagles' offense was clicking in that set as she had six kills, two blocks and just one attack error in the middle frame. She had another brilliant match in the middle with 10 kills on 14 swings and at least a hand on five of the blocks.
 
"We really went back to square one today," said Seltzer. "We got the matchups right and really blocked well."

The Crusaders carried some of the late momentum from set no. 2 into the third set and actually climbed out to a quick 2-0 advantage, which was the first time in the match they were able to grab a lead.
 
It did not last long though as the Eagles rattled off five consecutive points with Alyssa Mason serving to grab the spotlight once more. A short run from Madonna tied the set before a stretch where the Eagles won 10-of-12 points to put the match to rest early on with a 15-7 advantage.
 
Some strong defense from the Crusaders lowered the Eagles' attack efficiency late in the third set and had more than a few people wondering if they had enough in the tank to steal the game with a late comeback.
 
That would not be the case, as a service ace from Crissy Cunningham, who served well all day with four aces, ended the final set at 25-19 and setup the Eagles' date with No. 4 Columbia (Mo.).

Blaser ended up leading the team with her 13 kills and a mind-numbing .684 hitting percentage. She's up to 45 kills in the four games this tournament for BU, which puts her second on the team. The Eagles again got a steady defensive performance from its trio of Crissy Cunningham, Alex Brehaut and Tess Van Grouw. Biola outdug Madonna 41-33.
 
This was the first time since the 2011 tournament that the Eagles did not get a bye straight into the quarterfinals, but it is all well that ends well after BU's 22^nd three-set sweep of the 2015 season.
 
The Eagles will make their 6^th-consecutive NAIA National Quarterfinals appearance at 3:45 p.m PT against the Cougars. On the line is a spot in what could be Biola's 4^th-consecutive semifinals.
 
More information about the tournament can be found at http://athletics.biola.edu/sports/2015/11/28/WVB_1128152709.aspx?id=213.