COSTA MESA, Calif. --- For a while Saturday afternoon, Biola Volleyball looked headed for a quick trip home. Then, after Vanguard surged to back-to-back set wins, it looked like the Eagles might let the whole thing slip away.
Instead, Head Coach
Brian Failinger's team saved its best volleyball for the moment it needed it most.
Biola saw a commanding 2-0 advantage disappear but responded with a dominant fifth set, defeating Vanguard 3-2 (25-19, 25-15, 16-25, 22-25, 15-4) at the Freed Center.
The victory improved the Eagles to 17-5 overall and 12-3 in PacWest play.
Biola controlled the opening half of the match. The Eagles hit .289 in the first set and .273 in the second, using pressure from the service line and a balanced attack to build what appeared to be a comfortable 2-0 advantage.
Vanguard refused to go quietly.
The Lions flipped the match in the third, holding Biola to a .000 hitting percentage while hitting .345 themselves in a 25-16 win. That momentum carried directly into the fourth, where Vanguard raced ahead 11-2 and put itself in position to force a fifth.
Biola nearly prevented it.
The Eagles methodically cut into the deficit and eventually pulled within 23-22, but Vanguard grabbed the final two points to complete the comeback and send the match to a deciding frame.
After Vanguard erased an early 3-0 Biola lead to tie the fifth at 3-3,
Payton Tully delivered a crucial sideout.
Savannah Simpson stepped to the service line and the Eagles took complete control from then on.
Biola scored nine consecutive points with Simpson serving, turning the 4-3 edge into a commanding 13-3 advantage. Tully supplied two kills during the run, while
Haylee LaFontaine,
Hannah Guzzetti and
Juliana Van Ommering also finished attacks.
The fifth set was as decisive statistically as the score suggests. Biola produced 11 kills with just one error on 22 swings for a .455 hitting percentage, while Vanguard finished with two kills, four errors and a minus-.080 clip.
Van Ommering and Tully shared the team lead with 14 kills apiece, while Van Ommering added eight digs and Simpson finished with 10 kills on .364 hitting, eight digs and two blocks. LaFontaine provided a major lift, recording eight kills with just one error on 18 attempts (.389) across only two sets.
Lexi Lambert delivered one of her most complete performances of the season with 30 assists, 15 digs and six service aces. The six aces matched Biola's individual season-high, set by
Hannah Hanson against Westmont one week ago.
Caprice Cooper continued her standout debut season and anchored the back row with a match-high 19 digs, while adding two aces.
The victory continued a season-long trend of Biola finding ways in extended matches. Saturday marked the Eagles' third five-set contest in their last four matches and improved the team to 4-2 in matches going the distance in 2026.
It also moved Biola to the doorstep of the postseason.
Only four teams qualify for the PacWest Championships, and Saturday's win leaves the Eagles one conference victory away from mathematically securing a berth. Biola's 13th PacWest win would clinch its place regardless of other results.
The Eagles get that opportunity at home Thursday, Oct. 29, when they host Dominican at 7 p.m. inside Chase Gymnasium. Two of the team's final three regular season matches are home games.
