AZUSA, Calif. --- For the first time this season, Biola Volleyball came up against an offense that was working more effectively than its own. The Eagles witnessed quite the performance from No. 9 CSU San Bernardino during Biola's 3-1 (25-21; 14-25; 16-25; 17-25) loss to the Coyotes on Thursday afternoon.
 
Biola managed to steal the first set from the Coyotes, which had thoughts of a 2-0 start to the NCAA West Region Crossover on the minds of Eagles' fans. However, beginning in the second set CSUSB showed why they're deserving of a top-10 ranking and last year's West Region title.
 
After Biola held them to just 12 kills on a .050 clip in set one, the Coyotes rattled off sets of .457, .275 and .333 in their three set wins, raking in at least 15 kills in each of those sets.
 
That performance was no sleight on the Eagles; defensive effort though, especially not that of Sami Hover. The sophomore libero was all over the court digging up heavy hit CSUSB attack attempts, resulting in 27 digs in the four-set match. That's the most by a Biola player in a four-set match since Tess Van Grouw had the same number in four sets against Point Loma last year.
 
"Sami was incredible today," said Seltzer. "She's playing great. She kept us in those games."
 
Biola was close at some point in each of their three set losses, even getting out to an early lead in the decisive set four. However, missing some of their arms led to a lack of firepower when it mattered the most.
 
Sierra Bauder was one Eagle who was not lacking any firepower throughout the day. She matched her electric performance in the Eagles' morning victory over Northwest Nazarene with another tremendous, almost perfect effort in the nightcap.
 
The senior middle blocker recorded a team-best 11 kills on just 22 swings, hitting at .455 for the match. That, along with an error-free effort earlier in the day have her hitting at right around .400 for the year. Bauder also found herself in on four of Biola's nine blocks.
 
The Eagles had about 20 fewer kills and hit over .100 lower when the Coyotes when all was said and done, resulting in the match falling in favor of the ranked team. Biola limited its errors throughout the match, which is one positive takeaway, especially after giving away 11 points on service errors in the day's opener.
 
The team falls to 3-2 on the season, while CSUSB now sits at 5-1. Biola will look to bounce back as they continue play in the top pod of West Region teams on Saturday. The Eagles face No. 15 Western Washington in the morning and Sonoma State in the afternoon.
 
Follow all that action live at portal.stretchinternet.com/apu.