IRVINE, Calif. --- It had the feeling of being new, but at the same time there was a whole lot of familiar as Biola Volleyball traveled to Irvine on Saturday to face the dending PacWest Conference champion Concordia University Irvine Eagles.
 
It was Biola's first-ever PacWest Conference competition and was also a special night for the host school as they celebrated their first home conference contest as full members of NCAA Division II.
 
Head Coach Aaron Seltzer's team managed to spoil the celebration with an epic five-set victory on the road. The win makes it so that Biola can be called the only PacWest institution to never lose a PWC contest…at least for the next five days.
 
Biola claimed the five-set (25-17, 23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-12) win to improve to 3-1 this season in matches which go the distance and 40-20 all-time against the Eagles of Irvine.
 
"Super proud of the girls," said Seltzer. "It's always hard to come into an environment where they are having a celebration. The place was packed and very anti-Biola. However, we traveled real well, which was fun."
 
Seltzer's squad's serving and defense made all the difference on this evening. They were steady from start to finish. BU compiled six service aces and had fewer errors than Concordia in that area. Even when the serves didn't result directly in a point BU's decision-making had CUI out of system all night long. Tess Van Grouw and Kaitlin O'Brien each ended with a pair of aces.
 
Meanwhile, Van Grouw and Sami Hover were sprawling all over the court throughout the night making jaw-dropping digs to extend rallies and earn BU extra wins. They ended with a combined 51 digs (30 for TVG). Savannah Hilde also came in handy in the back row repeatedly, setting a new season-best with 18 digs. She added 11 kills for her second double double of 2017.
 
As it often does, this five-set match turned during the third set. Biola trailed for most of the beginning portion of the set, but a three-point swing gave the team a 13-11 lead that held through the remainder of the set. BU's largest lead came at 20-15, but later on a long run by CUI tied the set 23-23 and had everyone on their feet. A pair of Concordia attack errors, capped by a right side block straight up on the home team's best player, helped Biola grab the crucial 25-23 set win.
 
"The girls stayed mentally plugged in all the way through that match whether we were up or down," said Seltzer. "
 
After a pretty breezy fourth-set win by Concordia the tension was elevated even more when the home team was the first to eight points in the fifth at 8-7. The home team extended the lead to 9-7 when a kill from Alli Beezer set off a chain of four-straight points for BU to flip the script. After one more rally win by CUI, Biola won four of the final six points and clinched the match on a set error by the hosts. Concordia made five errors and hit just .097 in the fifth set.
 
"To be up in set five, then down at the set change and then back up again was great," said Seltzer. "We stayed resilient, stayed focused on their attackers and did a great job. Every single person on this team did a great job."
 
Karly Dantuma was Biola's leading hitter in the victory. She ended with 16 kills in front of her customary enthusiastic cheering section. The third-year lefty also led the team with a .324 hitting percentage.
 
Biola improved to 7-2 (1-0 PWC) with the victory. Concordia fell to 4-5 (0-2 PWC) after the loss. BU continues its 2017 conference slate with a Friday road match at Azusa Pacific (9-1, 2-0 PWC). It will be the first countable contest for the Cornerstone Cup.