Box Score LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Unranked Montana Tech began its three-day, four-match Southern California road trip with the best team it would face, a contest at No. 16 Biola. The Eagles would take a 2-1 set lead over the visiting Orediggers, but a late comeback ultimately caused BU to suffer an upset loss in five sets (25-20, 12-25, 25-19, 15-25, 8-15).
 
It seemed like two completely different Biola teams were on the floor at any given point throughout this match. The Eagles looked like world-beaters in sets one and three, but were vulnerable and susceptible to any number of Montana Tech in the three sets they lost.
 
Brooke Watts was featured in Biola's rotation for the first time since Sept. 6 as she returned from injury. She made an immediate impact on the match with six kills in the first set as she led Biola to a 25-20 victory.
 
The Eagles were also aided by six Montana Tech service errors in the opening game. That problem would persist for the Orediggers, 13 in the match, but was not nearly as impactful as it was in the first set.
 
The second set was a major mental turning point in the match as the Eagles hit just .125 while facing a Montana Tech team that went the entire set without an attacking error with a furious display of hitting from both outsides and its middle blocker. The 25-12 set loss was Biola's largest margin of defeat this season.
 
The team would bounce back in the third, thanks in large part to a hot start affording them a 9-4 lead. The teams would essentially trade points from the remainder of the frame as BU ended up with a six-point win in a set that had the Eagles' back row getting a lot of attention for crisp passing and strong defense.
 
The Eagles' attack took a leap backward in the fourth as the team hit negative and made 11 attacking errors compared to just six kills. Montana Tech did not look all that fantastic either, but was able to do just enough to keep the match going into the fifth set.
 
Biola came into the night 4-4 in five-set matches in 2016 and was looking to move out of that .500 range in a positive direction. Unfortunately for BU, the Orediggers came out firing on all cylinders and stole a quick 6-1 advantage. That advantage would never dissipate as the visiting team cruised to a 15-8 win while hitting over .600 in the clinching set.
 
Watts looked very strong and led the team with 12 kills in her return to action. Another positive sign in this one was the work done by the team's current middles, Ally Forsberg and Olivia Sorensen. Forsberg (8) and Sorensen (7) were third and fourth on the team in kills and both hit over .260 in the losing effort.
 
Montana Tech got a big lift with its play at the net. The Orediggers nearly doubled the Eagles in blocks (10-6) and were causing just enough disruption to force some of the BU attackers to miss wide with regularity.
 
The Eagles drop to 15-8. The Orediggers move to 12-7. Biola is back at home on Friday night with a chance to start a new home winning streak. The Eagles had won seven in a row at home before tonight's loss.
 
Biola faces Arizona Christian (2-10, 0-8 GSAC) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and then hosts Hope International (10-9, 4-5 GSAC) at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.