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sami hover digs a ball
George Rodriguez
0
Chaminade CUH-VB 9-1, 3-1 PacWest
3
Winner BIOLA BU-VB 8-4, 4-1 PacWest
Chaminade CUH-VB
9-1, 3-1 PacWest
0
Final
3
BIOLA BU-VB
8-4, 4-1 PacWest
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Chaminade CUH-VB 14 12 18 (0)
BIOLA BU-VB 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Eagles Cool Off Silverswords

Biola Volleyball handed Chaminade its first loss of the season, in three sets.

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- One team had a flawless record coming into Monday night. One team had been described as playing flawless volleyball. But that was not the team that earned victory as Biola Volleyball sent shockwaves throughout the conference by sweeping the previously undefeated Chaminade Silverswords in emphatic fashion (25-14; 25-12; 25-18).

"We're on top of the world right now," said junior outside hitter Sabrina Winslow.

That is a feeling well-deserved as Biola played a nearly perfect match of volleyball from start to finish to begin their busy three-match week all smiles. The Eagles dominated every aspect of the match, but they were especially impressive in blocking at the net, serving tough and making incredible acrobatic digs to stay in long rallies.

"We served very well," said Head Coach Aaron Seltzer. "All of our servers hit their spots and served really tough and Chaminade just struggled to get anything going. That is a really good team, but that's what happens when you cannot receive."

Biola had 10 blocks, six aces and 52 digs in their dismantling of the Silverswords. The effort was as close to an all-around team victory as you can get, with four players ending with five kills or more, assists split almost evenly between Brinley Beresford and Vanessa Garcia and Beresford (5) and Sierra Bauder (6) leading the way with impressive blocking.

The Eagles cruised through the first two sets thanks in large part to their ability to side out quickly and not allow the visitors to gain any momentum. Biola was a perfect 14-of-14 on sideout opportunities in the first and 11-of-13 (84 percent) in the second.

Biola's tough serving did not allow the Silverswords to side out with nearly the same amount of consistency, holding Chaminade to 56 percent at best and just 50 percent for the match.

It was not necessarily a whole lot of aces, just six, but almost every serve from the Eagles put Chaminade out of system due to some bad passing.

"It was just a combination of serving tough, passing a bit better and getting those early blocks," said Seltzer. "Those things really slow a team down. We did not get them at their best tonight, but that has a lot to do with our serving game being very good."

The third set had a bit more drama than the first two, with Chaminade pulling as close as five at 21-16, but Biola won four of the next six points to lock down the set and the match. The Eagles' final four points came courtesy a Karly Dantuma kill, Christina DenBoer ace, Brooke Bell error and finally a Bauder kill.

Bell, who's been one of the best players in the conference to this point of the year had an off night, thanks in large part to the fantastic preparation by the Eagles' defensive unit.

"That also had to do a lot with film," said Winslow. "We knew their hitters really well and we knew where to be. The gym was a lot cooler tonight. It was still pretty sweaty and pretty slippery out there, but we got them up."

Bell, who came into the match averaging 2.32 kills-per-set and hitting .404, managed just three kills on a .091 percentage. She and the Silverswords also had a hard time blocking Biola, only managing one block the whole night. They had been averaging over six per match.

Sami Hover was especially on point this night, recording her second-consecutive fantastic match. The sophomore libero brought in a team-high 17 digs and was vocal in lining her teammates up correctly to get good passes in.

"Sami was hunting people all night long," said Seltzer. "She was reading, moving, picking up balls and was spectacular. There were a couple late where she moved all the way across the court and was just reading and moving excellently."

Biola hit .315 as a team, which is its second-best mark of the year and was led by Christina DenBoer's 10 kills. DenBoer also led the team with four aces and managed seven digs to come close to her first double-double of the year.

The Eagles improve to 8-4 (4-1 PacWest), while Chaminade begins its California road trip by falling to 9-1 (3-1 PacWest). The Eagles have two days off and then return to the newly air-conditioned Chase Gym for a 7:00 p.m. matchup with Hawai'i Hilo (6-3, 2-1 PacWest) on Thursday.

"Any time you get a good win it helps with confidence," said Seltzer. "Chaminade will definitely have something to say about us the next time we play them, but it is good. We needed this confidence."
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