Biola University Athletics

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola Volleyball sure didn't look rusty after a week-long break as the Eagles came out and blitzed the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds to the tune of a 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-16) win.

Biola recorded 37 kills on 89 swings to hit .281 as a team. They held the visiting opponent to just a .128 percentage, but where Biola really did its damage was at the service line.

The team set a new season-high with 11 service aces, led by Vanessa Garcia's season-best total of three. Garcia had been held without an ace in each of her last two outings, so it was great to see the nearly perfect performance from her.

"I think we prepared and executed really well," said senior setter Brinley Beresford. "We took a lot of time to watch film and be ready for whatever they were going to throw at us."

The Eagles used a four-point run in the beginning of the first set to take an 8-7 lead and never trailed again in that opening set. It was a team effort on the attack, allowing the Eagles to win the opening frame despite a match-low 10 kills in that set.

The second set had a bit more intrigue, at least early on, with teams trading four-point runs and having the game at 8-8. FPU won the next point, but then Biola won six of the next eight to build up a fair lead. The Sunbirds chipped away and again had the frame tied at 15-15, but the Eagles won seven of the next eight and finally put the birds away with a Bekah Roth ace. Roth and Kaitlin O'Brien both had two aces in the match.

The third set was all Biola from the outset. They hit a match-best .391 with 13 kills on just 23 swings and held FPU to just nine kills, six errors to clinch the match in straight sets.

Sierra Bauder and Bekah Roth were dominant in their roles as middle blocker. Bauder led the team with nine kills on a .533 clip. She had three blocks in a match where the Eagles did not get as many blocks as is customary. Roth had six kills on 11 swings to hit .273. For the season, Bauder is now hitting .405 which is second-best in the conference.

"Both of them are just stud athletes that make setters' jobs easy since they're always available," said Beresford. "They have been consistent and resilient and its been a lot of fun to watch them this year."

Beresford and Garcia tied for the team-lead with 14 assists a piece. Beresford added four kills, but she was not able to attack as regularly because FPU's defense was watching for her and taking away the middle of the floor.

The win improves the Eagles to 5-3 (1-0 PacWest). The Sunbirds' tough start continues as they fall to 0-10 (0-2 PacWest). Biola flips back around quickly with a road contest at Point Loma (5-4, 2-0 PacWest) on Tuesday night.