LA MIRADA--- The Biola volleyball team took on its Cornerstone Cup rivals, Azusa Pacific, in a thrilling match inside Chase Gymnasium. The Eagles (9-4, 0-1 PacWest) swept the Cougars (5-6, 1-1 PacWest) in straight sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-23), improving their home record to 7-1.

The Cougars took an early lead while the Eagles were finding their footing. Biola clawed back to tie it at 11 a piece and never looked back. Kendall Vandertuig delivered the kill that stopped the Cougars' five-point run. In the first set, Biola rolled offensively with 12 kills and only three errors. Defensively, Biola had three clutch blocks, two by Hannah Guzzetti. Camille Solovjev had a decisive ace to put the Eagles up 22-18.

The second set was smooth operating for the Eagles. After taking the lead 6-5 early on, APU couldn't keep pace. Vandertuig recorded five kills while Payton Tully tacked on three of her own. Two aces aided the six-point victory, courtesy of Hannah Hanson and Lexi Lambert. Lambert's ace put BU at set point, and a kill by Hanson sealed it for the Eagles. 

The closest of the three sets came in the final frame as the Eagles and Cougars battled it out. Biola had an authoritative five-point lead at 16-11, but Azusa Pacific didn't go quietly, taking the lead at 21-20. Their run would come to a halt when Lambert shared the wealth, setting up three straight Biola kills by Tully, Hanson, and Madison Moore, bringing the Eagles to match point. A Simi Kapustova kill sealed the Cornerstone Cup victory.

Tully, Hanson, Kapustova and Bri Bellfi had shining performances against APU. Tully was nearly perfect with a .421 hitting percentage. Hanson recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 13 assists, and she was one dig shy of a triple-double with 9 digs. Kapustova accrued eight kills on .313 hitting. Bellfi led the Eagles with 20 digs. 

Biola's next match-up will be against PacWest opponent Jessup on Friday, October 17th, at 5 p.m. at Chase Gymnasium.