LA MIRADA, CALIF. --- Biola Volleyball extended the win streak out to eight matches as the Eagles swept (25-23, 25-22, 26-24) through Holy Names inside Chase Gymnasium Saturday evening. The match ended 3-0, but the final scoreline is not as indicative of how competitive the match was throughout.
Biola concluded their eight-straight home matches against some overall tough competition but still came out on top winning 8-0 on the homestand. It's the first time since August 2015 that Biola had a homestand of five matches or more with an undefeated record. That was back in the days when Biola Volleyball began every season hosting the Summer Slam tournament in Chase Gym.
The opening set of this PacWest match began similarly to most, with each team deadlocked multiple times throughout the early stages of action. Holy Names (6-19, 3-14 PacWest) and Biola (17-7,13-3 PacWest) totaled six ties in the first period of play, with both teams exchanging small scoring runs as well.
Madison Beebe played a huge role in set number one, totaling six kills in one set. The middle of the set is where Biola took control, winning five of six rallies to give it a few point lead, ultimately ending the game 25-23 with a kill by Dominique Kirton.
After a competitive first set, the Hawks won the first point in the second set, so the Eagles knew they were going to have to work for this win. Biola took the lead by three points at 10-7 while both teams continued to battle back and forth. The 10-7 advantage came on a four-point Biola run to make BU the first side to hold more than a one-point lead in game two.
Holy Names was keeping Biola working for each point, with many lengthy rallies featured in all three sets. The Hawks eventually caught up and even took the lead at 18-17, but Abigail Copeland came up with a pair of kills to get the crowd hyped and the only ace on the night by Beebe would put Biola back in the lead 19-18.
BU took advantage of the errors made by the opposing team and kept grinding to take the win of set two 25-22 by a ball handling error made by Junior Jasmine Yun. Holy Names had a tough match, getting called for six ball-handling errors overall.
Vanessa Garcia had herself a night being the only Eagle with a double-double of 40 assists, 15 digs. She also got in on two blocks and a hitting percentage of .500 on the night with five kills for the veteran. The 40 assists is the most for Biola in a three-set match this season.
HNU made Biola work hard in sets one and two, but in the third the Hawks had the Eagles' backs all the way against the wall with their best effort yet. Going into the third set HNU did capitalize on the first two points ready to compete against the Eagles early. They would maintain the lead most of the game until they had a steady 14-11 advantage and had Biola sweating.
Fortunately for coach Seltzer and the crew, Biola won four straight and six of seven to take the lead back at 17-15. A couple quick bursts, though, handed it right back to the Hawks at 20-19.
Biola came back to tie it up and take the lead 21-20 from back-to-back kills from Beebe and Abby Brewster. The visitors, though, won four of the next five, getting back-to-back kills to secure a set point at 24-22.
The fans at Chase Gymnasium were totally behind the Eagles, and the team utilized that momentum, working back to tie the game once again at 24-24. Sami Hover continued to make an impact on the court for Seltzer not only with her great serves but by leading the leaderboard in 20 digs and two assists for the Eagles. The Eagles finished the Hawks for good for the 26-24 victory.
Following its long and perfect homestand, Biola prepares to hit the road up north where the Eagles will open the action at Fresno Pacific (7-18, 4-11 PacWest) on November 12. For live stats links and updates check athletics.biola.edu.
