HAYWARD, Calif. --- Better late than never! Biola Volleyball has been incredible late in matches to begin the 2017 season. Through three matches the Eagles are 5-0 in fourth and fifth sets, including 2-0 in today's come-from-behind 3-2 win over Chico State.
 
"Gut check," said Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. "The team is mentally and physically done after that game. We were working twice as hard for every point throughout the day. I don't know how we're doing it, but God is good."
 
Biola went down 0-2 through the first two sets of the match and seemed to be in danger of suffering its first loss of the season in their first match of day two of the Route 92 Volleyball Tournament. The Wildcats won 25-23 and 25-19 to solidify a great standing early in the match.
 
"That was the best small team I have ever seen," said Seltzer. "They were everywhere, playing 10 times their size. It was crazy how good they were. They served so well. I really don't know how we made it through."
 
Right around the two-thirds point in the third set the match shifted in the favor of Biola. Once again, freshman setter Vanessa Garcia was right in the middle of the action. Biola held a slim 17-15 lead in the set, but two aces from Garcia paired with two errors from Chico State helped BU cement a dominant 21-15 advantage. The Eagles would win the set 25-18 to begin climbing into the match.
 
Set four started out worrisome for Seltzer's squad as a pair of early runs from Chico State put the Wildcats ahead 10-5. However, the Eagles (spurred on by Sabrina Winslow and Christina DenBoer) responded with six rally wins in a row to get back in good position in the set at 11-10. Winslow subbed in and got a block immediately and later added a kill in the run. DenBoer had two of her match-high 17 kills in that stretch.
 
The two teams traded points for most of the rest of the fourth set until Chico managed a match point at 24-23. Winslow came up big once again with the Eagles' backs against the wall and slammed a set from Vanessa Garcia into the floor to tie things at 24. An ace from Kaitlin O'Brien and block by Bekah Roth and Karly Dantuma ended the set at 26-24 and forced the decisive fifth frame.
 
"We made some changes in game three with substitutions and changing our serving patterns. It was a big difference in that match for us," said Seltzer. "Sabrina came in and was immediately a rock star and Vanessa made a really big difference again."
 
The Eagles immediately got out to a 3-0 lead and never once trailed en route to locking down the 15-12 set win and 3-2 match victory. A Dantuma solo block and DenBoer kill sealed the final two points for the Eagles in the match as the 2015 freshman class flexed their muscles.
 
The win comes over a Chico State team that was 3-0 and had not yet dropped a set in 2017. The Wildcats were 23-8 in 2016 and made it to the NCAA Division II West Regional.
 
"The girls stepped up and played big," said Seltzer. "We controlled the net midway through game three on. Our size wore them down at the top of the net. We were able to get them out of system a bit and then Sami Hover, Tess Van Grouw and Kaitlin O'Brien were great in the back."
 
DenBoer secured her third double double in as many outings this season with 17 kills and 15 digs. Dantuma was also a force to be reckoned with all match long, grabbing 12 kills and being in on seven of the Eagles' 17 blocks. Winslow was the third Eagle with double-digit kills with 12.
 
Garcia set a new career-high with 30 assists and the Eagles' back row was stellar with Van Grouw recording 24 digs and Hover adding 12. O'Brien was the team's toughest server, posting three aces to go along with her nine digs.
 
Biola moves to 3-0 on the season, with all wins coming against tough California Collegiate Athletic Conference opponents. Their final match of the tournament is tonight at 4:30 p.m. against a fourth CCAA team, CSU East Bay (2-1). Follow live stats for the match at http://www.sidearmstats.com/csueastbay/wvball/.