LA MIRADA --- Biola Volleyball clinched a spot in the PacWest Championship Tournament on Thursday night, defeating Dominican 3-1 (25-10, 25-14, 19-25, 26-24) inside Chase Gymnasium.
The Eagles improved to 18-5 overall and 13-3 in PacWest play with the victory, using a dominant start and a late push in the fourth set to secure their postseason berth.
Biola established control early, hitting .433 with 16 kills in the opening set. With the Eagles ahead 7-4, Sophia Knevelbaard stepped to the service line and helped spark an eight-point run that stretched the lead to 15-4. Juliana Van Ommering eventually delivered Biola's final two kills to close out the 25-10 win.
Dominican opened the second with a 5-1 advantage, but Biola quickly erased the deficit. The Eagles responded with a 9-2 stretch to take a 10-7 lead and continued to pull away from there. Biola hit .382 in the frame and closed the set on five straight points to take it 25-14 and move ahead 2-0 in the match.
The Penguins answered in the third, building an early 8-3 lead and eventually extending their advantage to 21-12. Biola made a late push and cut the deficit to five at 24-19, but Dominican closed out the frame 25-19 to extend the match.
The fourth developed into the closest set of the night. Biola led 18-14 before Dominican scored five straight to move ahead 19-18. Neither side created much separation from there, with the teams trading points through a 24-24 tie.
Van Ommering broke the tie with her 14th kill of the night, putting Biola ahead 25-24. The Eagles then forced a Dominican attack error on match point to take the set 26-24, close out the victory and secure their place in the PacWest Championships.
Van Ommering led a balanced Biola attack with 14 kills on a .306 hitting percentage. Haylee LaFontaine followed with 13 kills while hitting .345 and added 11 digs, two service aces and four block assists. Savannah Simpson added 12 kills on a team-best .348 hitting percentage, while Payton Tully chipped in seven kills.
Lexi Lambert dished out 21 assists and Hannah Hanson added 20. Caprice Cooper anchored the back row with a match-high 21 digs, while Knevelbaard added 11. At the net, Hannah Guzzetti led Biola with seven block assists as the Eagles totaled nine team blocks.
The Eagles return to Chase Gymnasium on Saturday, Oct. 31, hosting Jessup.
