LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Chase gymnasium was quieter than normal for a volleyball home opener, but that didn't stop BU from channeling as much energy from their team as they could. Each set played tonight was up for grabs as the Eagles and Nanooks were evenly matched. Unfortunately, Alaska Fairbanks held the upper hand and took the match 3-1, handing Biola its first loss of the season. 

Head Coach Aaron Seltzer was pleased with the energy he saw from his squad as well as the reps his team was able to get in tonight. "It has taken a long time to get back, but we're thankful to be out here and excited to play for a few more weeks," said Coach Seltzer.

The Eagles did not go down without a fight as they were lead by seniors Vanessa Garcia and Bekah Roth. "Those two have a lot of mileage on them and carry us at times with their energy and maturity," said Seltzer. BU's 2021 team has a lot of experience mixed in with talented new players who are eager and willing to learn from their veterans. 

Dominique Kirton led the attack for BU, she had 11 kills on the night and was followed closely by Raegan Tjepkema with eight kills. Abby Brewster led the team with four aces in the match while totaling 11 digs and 15 assists for BU, matching Vanessa Garcia's total. Alongside her 15 assists, Garcia had seven digs, one block and one kill against the Nanooks. 

The trio of Kirton, Abigail Copeland and Dani Bryant totaled for six blocks for the Eagles, recording two each, with Kirton and Tjepkema recording the only solo blocks of the night for BU. Senior Sami Hover led the back row with a solid performance. The libero tallied 20 digs for the Eagles as she inches closer to 1,700 career digs, after tonight's contest she sits at 1,633.


Just like the entire match, set one was a back-and-forth contest between the Eagles and Nanooks. BU took the early lead but the Alaska Fairbanks wouldn't go down without a fight. With the set tied 8-8, the teams traded points until Alaska Fairbanks went on a three point run giving them the 12-10 lead. The Eagles responded with a four point run of their own to take the lead 14-12 before surrendering another point to the Nanooks. 

Following three straight points on both sides of the net (17-16), set one would remain a one point contest until the Eagles shut the door 25-22. 

After clinching set one 25-22, Biola couldn't quite put the Nanooks away in the final three games, dropping the next three sets 26-28, 23-25 and 25-22. 

Set two saw both teams secure nice runs of three and four points at various stages of the contest. After outperforming the Nakooks in kills in set one 16-13, The Eagles couldn't do the same in the second set as Alaska Fairbanks totaled 17 kills to Biola's 9.
Set two was a marathon as neither team was ready for the set to end. The Nanooks were able to muster the win with a final score of 28-26 to even the match 1-1. 

The Eagles had a great start in set three, taking the early 4-1 advantage. Unlike set two, the third was much more evenly matched with Biola recording 14 kills on 34 attempts and Alaska Fairbanks nearly matching those results with 15 kills on 33 total attempts. Following BU's early lead, the largest lead of set three came with the Nanooks on-top 9-6. BU would take the next four points courtesy of kills from Kirton and Tillery as well as two errors by the Nanooks. 

Tied up at 16, redshirt freshman Brie Nishimura had a fantastic effort to keep the ball in play while diving into open space beyond the field of play. The set was evenly matched the rest of the way as both teams drew even at 23-23. Alaska Fairbanks would take the set 25-23 following a kill from Cate Whiting and an attacking error by BU, giving them the 2-1 match advantage. 

The fourth and final set saw dominating runs from both teams throughout the final match as each finished with five-points leads during the set. The highlight of set four was Brewster's performance as she set up her hitters up well while also being a threat behind the service line. The sophomore setter served up two back-to-back aces, followed by a third team ace with the Nanooks being out of rotation. Brewster wasn't done, she followed the team ace with a nice assist setting up Bekah Roth for the kill before adding another ace to give BU the two point advantage.

The Nanooks would go on to win the final set 25-22 and the match 3-1 as their attackers continued to hit their spots to close the game. 


Biola will have to wait nearly 10 days for their next contest as they host Point Loma to kick off PacWest SoCal pod play on March 17 at 6 p.m. Follow along at athletics.biola.edu as the Eagles look to bounce back against the Sea Lions.