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Championship banner pose
1
College of the Ozark CO-VB 33-7
3
Winner BIOLA BU-VB 30-6
College of the Ozark CO-VB
33-7
1
Final
3
BIOLA BU-VB
30-6
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
College of the Ozark CO-VB 18 25 21 13 (1)
BIOLA BU-VB 25 20 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Champions, Again

Biola wins in four over the hosts, College of Ozarks, to clinch NCCAA title.

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. --- Biola had to work a bit harder than it did throughout the rest of the tournament, but it ended up coming up roses as the Eagles clinched a second-consecutive National Christian College Athletic Association national championships.

The Eagles took down the tournament host, College of the Ozarks in four sets () to end the tournament a perfect 5-0 and end the season 30-6.

"I am so excited to end the season with this win in a hard-fought match," said Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. "I am especially excited for our seniors who get to end their careers on a high note."

College of the Ozarks took advantage of having a good home crowd and was able to hang in close for a good part of the first game. It was a one-point game as late as the 15-14 point.

Then, a short run of points that included a Sabrina Winslow ace helped the Eagles make it 18-14 and then they cruised to the finish at 25-18.

Service aces played a big part of the opening set. Twenty-five percent of the Eagles' 25 points came by way of the ace. Three of those five aces came from super sophomore Bekah Roth.

The second set saw really good volleyball from both teams. It was the first game Biola Volleyball had lost since back on Oct. 23. College of the Ozarks managed 16 kills and hit .412 in the second game to shock the Eagles.

The home team led for just about the entire set, with Biola only getting two small leads throughout the run of play. The big swing was in the latter-half when C of O took an 18-18 game and turned it into a win thanks to a 7-2 run.

"Kudos to College of the Ozarks," said Seltzer. "Their fans really turned up and made for a fun championship atmosphere. They played well early on and made this difficult for us. It was the most competitive match of the tournament for sure."

Looking to shake off the unexpected loss in the second game, Biola came out on fire in the third. The team took a 9-2 advantage to assert their dominance in the early going and take a little bit of the wind out of the sails of the spirited College of the Ozarks crowd.

It wasn't smooth sailing throughout that entire game, but it was certainly more comfortable than the previous one. The Bobcats never got closer than a two-point deficit. It was also the Ozarks' worst offensive showing of the day as they had just nine kills to go with eight errors, hitting .030.

Then, everything was set up for Biola to work its way to the finish in the fourth and clinch its second-straight national championship.

A mid-set run allowed Biola to take a double-digit lead over the Bobcats at 19-9 and cruise to the finish. The Eagles led wire-to-wire in that fourth to finish the seniors' careers on a high note and bring the blue banner back to La Mirada.

The Eagles had four players reach double-digit kills, led by Christina DenBoer's 13. Joining DenBoer was Karly Dantuma (12), Sierra Bauder (11) and Sabrina Winslow (11). Biola would hit .302 for the match, giving them +.300 for each match in this tournament.

The hitters were setup by the tandem of Brinley Beresford and Vanessa Garcia, as always. Beresford led the way with 26 assists, a tournament-high. Garcia chipped in 19 as the BU offense impressed as usual.

Beresford's 26 assists went alongside eight kills and eight digs as she nearly lodged a triple-double in her final collegiate competition. DenBoer did manage a double-double, ending with 19 digs and 13 kills.

"I am so proud this group of seniors," said Seltzer. "They've been a great example of the kind of players we want in this program since they first got here. Cannot express how happy I am that we could get it done for them, and led by them, today."

This season becomes the 10th time in program history that Biola's managed 30 wins. Nine of those 10 seasons have come under Head Coach Aaron Seltzer.

Sierra Bauder was named NCCAA Player of the Year. Seltzer was NCCAA Coach of the Year. Brinley Beresford and Bauder earned all-tournament recognition, while DenBoer, Dantuma and Bauder all earned NCCAA All-American honors.

See you all in August!
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