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Scoreboard

Sabrina digging a ball
1
Biola BU 0-1
3
Winner Alaska Anchorage UAA 1-1
Biola BU
0-1
1
Final
3
Alaska Anchorage UAA
1-1
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Biola BU 16 26 13 20 (1)
Alaska Anchorage UAA 25 24 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Host With The Most

Alaska Anchorage blocks Biola 15 times to shut down Eagles in nightcap.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska --- Biola's opening day nightcap followed a similar script to its opener early in the day, with the two teams splitting sets one and two and Biola leading late in the fourth set before ultimately falling in four.

This time it was the hosting Alaska Anchorage Seawolves who set BU down 3-1 (16-25; 26-24; 13-25; 20-25). The loss drops Biola to 0-2 to start the new year with matchups against UC San Diego (1-1) and Concord (0-2) looming on Saturday.

Just like in the opener, it was a challenging first set for Biola right out the gate. The Eagles went down 8-5 quickly and then surrendered a four-point run later in the set to allow UAA to open up a 15-9 lead and set the tone for the game. Both teams ended with 13 kills in that opening frame, but UAA had just two attack errors compared to Biola's 11.

That sound attack would be present for much of the night for the hosts, hitting .231 for the match. 

Biola's second set win was the most closely contested of the four games, needing one extra point for the Eagles to get the win. Neither team played error-free volleyball in the frame, combining for 19 total errors (service and attack).

The win was a great show of resilience for the Eagles, who could've easily checked out after going down 8-3 and down one set already. Biola would remain down by 4-5 points until a run of four wins out of five rallies helped them back in the set at 12-11. UAA then won three straight, before BU won four straight to bring the strange set to 15-15.

The set would again be tied at 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 24 as the teams played sideout volleyball for much of the remainder of the frame. Finally it was a UAA service error followed by a Sabrina Winslow service ace that clinched the set in Biola's favor, 26-24.

Set three was all Seawolves as UAA worked as much as a 14-point lead before ultimately winning the frame 25-13 to force Biola into a tough spot headed into the fourth. Three aces, two blocks and a .367 attacking clip (12 kills, 1 error) helped UAA to that convincing third-set effort.

In the fourth, the Eagles once again showed a promising ability to shake off negative energy. They opened the frame by winning the first four points and held a lead all the way up to 15-12.

Then everything shifted as the Seawolves won seven points in a row and began looking squarely at the finish line all of a sudden leading 19-15. A couple kills from the middles and a vintage Kaitlin O'Brien ace helped the Eagles hang in there until the end, but they'd wind up dropping the match with a 25-20 conclusion to the fourth.

Winslow was once again Biola's leading attacker with 14 kills. She'd add seven digs to bring her daily total up to 29 kills and 14 digs. Raegan Tjepkema and Madison Beebe were other bright spots in the Eagles' offense. The freshmen pair both hit well in the positive (.400) and had eight kills a piece. 

Vanessa Garcia was a big plus both offensively and defensively in this one. The junior setter recorded 29 assists and added 15 digs (a career-high) to record Biola's first double-double of the season.

The biggest piece of the puzzle in keeping Biola in this one had to be their libero, Sami Hover. She was a human vacuum, sucking up every attack that came anywhere near her. After ending the first match of the day with 12 total digs, Hover had 18 through just the first two sets in this one. She'd end with 29 digs in the nightcap, helping BU out-dig the Seawolves, 68-59.

In the end the Seawolves 15-4 blocking advantage and +.126 margin in hitting percentage was too much to overcome. 

Biola gets another chance at its first victory of the year tomorrow morning on day two of the Seawolf Invitational. Catch the 11:30 a.m. match live at portal.stretchinternet.com/gnac.
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