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Scoreboard

EAGLES
Molli Kaptein
2
Concordia, Irvine CUI-VB 15-9, 11-6 PacWest
3
Winner Biola BU-VB 19-6, 12-4 PacWest
Concordia, Irvine CUI-VB
15-9, 11-6 PacWest
2
Final
3
Biola BU-VB
19-6, 12-4 PacWest
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Concordia, Irvine CUI-VB 23 25 25 19 12 (2)
Biola BU-VB 25 21 22 25 15 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Biola Earns Title Of Better Eagles

Your Eagles earn the season sweep of CUI in five sets on Wednesday.



LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Just like the old days, and earlier this year, Biola's Wednesday night matchup with Concordia Irvine was a no holds barred, wild west shootout. The Eagles and Eagles battled through five heart-pounding sets before Biola was able to walk away victorious (25-23, 21-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-12).

Concordia had won the previous 11 matches coming into play tonight, so silencing an old rival and ending their strong run of play made the win all the more sweet. The victory also helps Biola stay in a dead even tie with Azusa Pacific for second place in the conference at 12-4.

"What a great night and a great atmosphere," said Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. "We got a chance to celebrate it with Chick-Fil-A. What a great night for Biola Volleyball.

Concordia won the PacWest in 2016 and was picked in the preseason to win again. With tonight's victory Biola earned the season sweep of the other Eagles and improve to 41-20 all-time against CUI.

The match tonight followed a similar script to the one out in Irvine, but this time it was Concordia who went up two sets to one instead of BU. With their backs against the wall Seltzer's team played it's best game of the night in the fourth and followed that with a gritty go of it in the fifth.

It was the team's back row that really stepped up when it mattered the most and limited a very dangerous CUI attack. Biola held Concordia to just 21 kills total for the fourth and fifth frames when they had averaged about 16 in each set from games one through three. Concordia had its lowest hitting percentage of the night in set four (.088) and that all boils down to the exceptional work from Tess Van Grouw, Sabrina Winslow, Sami Hover and Kaitlin O'Brien in the back. That quartet combined for 54 digs on the night, led by Van Grouw's 22.

"We stuck to the plan and defended them the way we wanted to, which was good for us," said Seltzer. "We ended the match with them in their worst rotation, which is just how we wanted."

Biola never trailed in the fourth set and only trailed 1-0 in the fifth as they ran away with the match late. It was a 10-4 run at the end of set four that sent the team steamrolling into the fifth set bursting with confidence.

A Sabrina Winslow is what brought the fourth to a close and she was absolutely the best player on the floor on Wednesday night. The outside hitter earned her third double-double of the season, and second in a row, with 20 kills and 15 digs. Nine of her 20 kills came in the final two sets.

"Sabrina has one level - it's HARD," said Seltzer. "She just has the ability to stay confident through the good and the bad and I think it is Jesus in her heart. She did so well tonight."

"After the second game, coach reminded us of our gameplan and that really caught us back up to what we were supposed to be doing," said Winslow. "It feels so good. That's a great rival and it was a good win against them."

In a match as tight as this one it's the little things that make a big difference. Biola held a slim advantage in service aces (5-3) and blocks (11-8), and in the end that made up more than the difference in points in the clinching set.

Sierra Bauder was stellar to get in on six of the Eagles' 11 blocks. Brinley Beresford was right there too getting four blocks as the Eagles' front row did all it could defensively to take some pressure off the DSs. She had 12 kills and led the team with a .357 hitting percentage.

"Sierra was awesome tonight. She blocked well and put balls away and that's exactly what we need her to do," said Seltzer. "Brinley gutted it up too. She is not feeling good at all, so I was proud of what we got from her."

Beresford was able to come close to her season-high with 51 assists. She added seven kills by catching the CUI defense napping and then added double-digit digs (12) for her second-straight double-double. She's had seven of those this season and we wouldn't be surprised if she snuck a triple-double in before all was said and done.

Karly Dantuma also reached double-digit kills with 11 on 28 swings.

Biola improves to 19-6 (12-4 PacWest) with the victory. Concordia falls to 15-9 (11-6 PacWest) following its first loss since Sept. 30. For those keeping track...it's now 24 in a row over bird-related mascots.

Your Eagles are back at Chase Gymnasium on Thursday evening for a date with Hawai'i Pacific (7-17, 5-11 PacWest) at 7:00 p.m. The Sharks are coming off a three-set loss at California Baptist on Wednesday.

Watch the match live from La Mirada or follow along at home at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/biola/.
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